Catching the Stars
by salianne
Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Catching the Stars (1/14)

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~3800

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

AN: Not sure how many folks have seen Big Eden...and of those who have, how many are even interested in fanfic about the movie - but I adore it and have been thinking about Pike and Henry for years. So, despite the fact that they aren't the typical hot, young boys that we all seem to love so much - I'm writing this. Yes, there will be man-love. Yes, there will be angst and obstacles. I haven't found many fics out there about them, and those I've found have been one shots. This is a chaptered story - mostly because I'm almost incapable of writing anything else! Hopefully there are a few others who want more of this mature, oddly adorable couple.

If you haven't seen the movie - I highly recommend it. You can watch it on You Tube (in 8 parts) - just use search term "Big Eden"

_**PRESENT DAY**_

Things like this didn't happen in Big Eden.

This was the kind of nightmare that was reserved for cities like Detroit or Chicago...New York, definitely New York.

_But never here._

His little piece of paradise didn't even have a police department. They never really needed one.

_Because things like this don't happen here._

He remembered when his parents were killed by a drunk driver. It was the Eureka police who had walked right up to him as he sat huddled against his Sampa in the empty waiting room of the tiny hospital, one town over from the Big Eden home belonging to his grandparents. The officer, who just didn't understand the ways of Big Eden, looked right past the boy who was trying to understand why he was even there and said, "_Mr. Hart, we need to get a little information about the deceased._"

Henry wasn't more than 9 years old, but he knew what deceased meant. He looked up into the bleary eyes of his grandfather and tried to reason through what was happening. "_Sampa? Who died? Who died? Sampa?_" He remembers asking the same question a billion times as his whole world fell away from beneath him.

Years later, Sam admitted that there were very few moments in his life where he wanted to do physical harm to anyone - and one of those moments was that day in the small hospital where Henry Hart lost his parents.

It took thirty years, and losing Sam, to understand that he had sheltered himself from feeling that kind of pain again by falling for unattainable men - well..._man_ - and running away from the all of people who loved him. He still hated himself for wasting all those years he could have had with Sam.

He wished he had his Sampa right now.

But Sam was gone and he was now sitting on a hospital waiting room chair that was probably older than he was, waiting to hear if his reason for letting himself be found - the man who f_ound _him - would live to see tomorrow.

"Henry." Grace Cornwell's voice pulled him from his dark thoughts.

He tilted his eyes toward the sweet sound of it and saw Jim Soams and John Cornwell standing with her. They all looked like sympathy for Henry was warring with their own devastation.

_**Everyone**_ loved Pike Dexter.

But not as much as _**Henry**_ loved Pike Dexter.

"I don't know anything yet." He managed to say before he fell apart the second he felt Grace touch his shoulder. "He...I..."

"Shhhhhh...sweetheart." Grace soothed. She held his head to her chest as she rocked him gently. "Pike's a strong man."

"What happened?" Dean Stewart suddenly appeared from behind Jim and John. He squatted in front of Henry and Grace, gripping Henry's thighs as he spoke. "Henry, what happened? Are you okay?"

He pulled away from Grace and could only shake his head and sob.

"Oh god, Henry." Dean pulled him into his arms and let him cry against his shoulder. He looked at Grace and asked again. "What happened?"

"It's Pike." Grace explained.

"I know that much. Anna heard from Beth who heard from Maggie who heard from Bird." Dean said as his eyes welled from the pain he felt for the man weeping in his arms. His best friend. More than that - Henry Hart was more than a best friend, more than family...he was an undefined, overwhelming needed presence and had been since they were little kids. Dean had tried everything to keep Henry close because he missed him so damn much when he was gone. Dean had never been more relieved than the day Henry opened his heart up for Pike. Pike had been the one to settle Henry's fears enough to keep him still. Dean loved Pike because Pike loved Henry. "What happened to Pike?" He asked Grace again.

"Henry Hart?" Everyone turned toward the unfamiliar voice. It belonged to an Eureka Police Officer.

"This is Henry." Dean said while he rubbed his palm along the length of Henry's back.

The officer looked confused. "I'm sorry. I was told Mr. Hart was the _**victim's **_partner."

"He is." Grace answered this time.

The officer looked from Grace to the two men holding each other, then back to Grace and lifted his eyebrow. Grace didn't appreciate the unspoken accusation from a man who stood in judgement without knowing anything about any of them.

"Henry, honey." She soothed him with gentle stroking of his arm.

He looked up from the haven of Dean's shoulder and saw the uniformed man towering over them. Grace handed him a box of tissues while Dean helped him sit up in the chair again. They both kept a protective arm around him as he steadied himself to answer whatever questions the officer needed to ask.

"I'm Henry Hart." He sucked in a deep breath that sounded more like a strangled sob. "I'm Pike Dexter's...he's my..." _How do you explain to someone that Pike's the man who caught me when I fell from the sky?_ He looked at Grace and started falling apart all over again. "...we're...god...what are we if he..."

"Henry." Grace said firmly. "Pike will get through this."

"You're right, you're right..." Henry nodded and took a deep breath before he looked back at the only one in the crowd who _**wasn't **_emotional. "I'm Pike's partner."

"And you're the one who found Mr. Dexter?"

Henry nodded. "He didn't come home. He's usually home by seven...never later than eight. He never came home and he didn't answer the phone at the store. I got worried that maybe his truck broke down or something so I went to look for him."

The officer was holding his pen to his notepad but had yet to write anything.

"So I got to the store and his truck was still there. All the lights were still on and the door was hanging wide open. I ran from my truck because I knew something wasn't right. He was...he was just laying there...on the floor...in front of the counter where the cash register...and the cold case was smashed and everything had been torn apart or stomped up and Pike was just laying there...torn apart and stomped up too." He buried his face in his hands and collapsed in on himself. The images replaying in his mind were like something out of a horror show. He tried to shut them out by closing his eyes tight and shaking his head.

"Do you know if Mr. Dexter had been drinking..."

"What?" Henry thought he must have heard him wrong.

"It's not uncommon for them to drink too much and get into a scuffle with each other." The officer calmly explained.

"Them?" Henry was confused. Was this some sort of weird gay stereotype he'd never heard of?

"Yeah. You know...the indians. Native Americans. Whatever...they can't hold their liquor..."

"Now hold up there, Son." Jim stepped in before Henry said something he would regret to an officer of the law. "I don't know how they do things up there in Eureka, but here we don't talk like that about people. And I've known Pike since he was a baby - he's never been drunk a day in his life."

"Don't defend him like he needs defending, Jim. Pike's the one whose been hurt - attacked in his own home. It doesn't matter if he were drunk or not - he didn't deserve that. You didn't see it Jim. You didn't see what they did to him. Nothing he could have done would have deserved that." Henry was crying again.

Jim nodded and patted Henry on the back. "You're right Henry." He looked up at the officer again. "Do you know _**anything**_?"

He cleared his throat and looked at his notes. "We're still investigating, but from our initial assessment, it looks like Pike Dexter _**may**_ have been attacked during a robbery." The officer explained. He looked at Henry again. "Did you see any cars or people that you didn't recognize on the road?"

Henry just shook his head to indicate that he didn't. He didn't see a damn thing and there was nothing he could do for the gentle man with patience enough to fall in love with a dancing star.

_**FLASHBACK**_

They left one by one until the only ones left were Henry and Pike.

Oh - and the guys loitering around the cappuccino machine.

Two things became painfully obvious. First, it was going to take weeks before the heaviness of Widow Thayer's cottage cheese and sour cream pancakes eased from his gut. And second - it would be a while before they had an opportunity to be alone to talk about...whatever this was they were doing together. Henry leaned against the counter in front of the cash register watching Pike stock the cold case with the milk that had just been delivered. He allowed himself to take in details - the waves in the long, dark hair, the way long legs met denim covered cheeks, long fingers, slightly muscular arms and wide, strong shoulders.

He was a little surprised by how much he wanted to see more of Pike - more skin...more _**everything**_. It felt good to feel this way about someone who wasn't Dean.

It felt good to feel this for someone who felt the same way back. _He ran after me. He tried to stop my plane before I escaped back into the sky._ It was all so hard to believe.

Of course it was all an assumption. Maybe Pike's attraction was more about filling a void or enjoying Henry's company. It wasn't lost on Henry that he was _**not**_ the kind of guy fantasies are made of. He was short, balding, soft around the middle with a bad posture and stumpy, unattractive little fingers. Not to mention other stumpy things that he wasn't too keen on sharing with anyone he _**wanted**_ to actually have sex with.

Which made absolutely no sense what-so-ever, but he couldn't help it...he was a man with normal male insecurities about his manly shortcomings. Short being the operative word.

Henry was suddenly nervous and unsure. _Maybe I made a mistake by staying._

Pike was now standing no more than a foot away - staring. Henry wasn't sure when Pike had moved from his task of stocking the cold case because he was too busy inside of his own head - doubting his worth as a potential lover for the tall, dark, totally adorable shy man making incredibly intense eye contact with him. Henry was caught off guard by the blatant desire radiating from those dark eyes. _Maybe he __**does**__ want me. _

He cleared the nerves from his throat. "I should get going...get the house back into livable condition."

Pike nodded without losing eye contact.

Henry moved from the counter and suddenly felt wobbly now that he had nothing holding him up, "Okay..."

"Okay." Pike finally said something.

Too bad Henry had no clue what it was supposed to mean. "Okay." He backed away for a few steps before he tore his eyes away from Pike and turned away to walk out the door. He thought he heard Jim's lightly-sarcastic _'Bye Henry'_ as he reached for the spring-loaded door. The bell ringing to mark his departure seemed to pull PIke from his trance, because he heard heavy footfalls behind him as he reached for the door handle of Sam's old truck.

"Henry!"

He turned just as Pike reached him and was both nervous and elated when he found himself pinned against the cold metal by the almost-but-not-quite-full-body-press of his new love interest. Pike was so close he could feel his heat. He was suddenly reminded of the first time he touched this man. Pike had just arrived with Widow Thayer for Thanksgiving. As Henry took his coat he skimmed along Pike's arm and felt sparks. He was surprised and found himself immediately wanting more.

And now he was almost there - almost getting more - he only needed to lean in ever-so-slightly and he would be touching Pike from head to toe. He heard himself making some sort of strangled whine and immediately felt his face heat up from the blush. _Could I humiliate myself any __**more**__?_

Pike swallowed nervously. "I have a pork tenderloin."

"Pork tenderloin?" Henry wasn't sure what Pike's point was.

Pike nodded. "And red bliss potatoes."

"Okay."

Pike leaned a little closer. "Roasted beets would be good with it."

Henry nodded and felt a crooked grin forming on his face as he started to understand. "Sounds good."

"Okay."

And just like that they had planned their first official date. "Okay."

"Henry?" Pike said his name like a question before he closed the few remaining inches between them, pressing warm lips to warm lips in a sweet, maple-syrup-flavored, soft kiss. After they pulled apart and managed to open their eyes, Pike ended the minimalist conversation with a very simple, "Bye."

Henry spent the rest of the day thinking about it. _**All**_ of it. From, the unexpected kiss initiated by the shyest man he had ever known - a kiss which left him wondering what other surprises Pike had in store - to the fact that Sam knew so much more about him than he even knew about himself. As he undid everything he had done during the previous week to pack up the house for a long wait for his next visit - he thought about Pike. And Sam. Sam and Pike. Pike and himself.

Possibilities.

So _**many **_possibilities.

Dean didn't even cross his mind. Not that he noticed.

When he heard the familiar rhythm of Pike's rapid knocking on the screen door, he was startled by the fact that the entire day had passed in what seemed like minutes. He felt his heart race in a way that was both new and old.

His heart had raced many times over the years - for Dean. But with Pike there was a real promise for something more than mere pining. _I'm staying in one place and letting Pike find me. _

He would have to remember to thank Grace later for being so damned wise.

He nervously stood on the other side of his closed door, wiped his sweaty palms on his jean-clad thighs and took a deep, calming breath before opening the door.

He was stunned by how breathless the sight of Pike Dexter made him feel. _When did that happen?_ "Hey."

"Hi." Pike said with only a hint of nervousness.

Another surprise for Henry - Pike seemed so sure of himself. _And when did __**that **__happen?_ He stood there looking into dark eyes that were slowly filling with a little sparkle of mirth. With a quick nod in the direction of the large box he held in his arms, he grinned.

_Playful. Pike is being __**playful**__._ "Sorry." He said with a chuckle as he moved out of Pike's way. "Come in."

Pike passed as close as the box he held would allow and kept his eyes focused on Henry. "Thanks."

_He's going to be full of surprises._ Henry realized as he closed the door and followed the tall man into the kitchen. He watched Pike move around his kitchen with familiar ease. Pike wore dark black jeans and the same red shirt he wore the night he had subtly confessed his secret hope to feed Henry's soul enough to make him fall from the sky. Henry understood now - Pike had _**always**_ wanted to be the one to catch him.

It was all so clear now.

"You look nice." He said as Pike set Sam's old plates on the small kitchen table.

Pike looked up from the plate he was carefully centering on it's assigned place mat. "You do too."

Henry scoffed. "Psht. I'm all dusty and sweaty from putting this place back together all day."

Pike's eyes scanned Henry from head to toe. "Looks good on you."

That threw him off his game a bit. Who was he kidding...he had no game. "I meant to take a quick shower before you got here. The day got away from me."

"You have time." Pike said as he dug through the drawer containing flatware. "I need to heat this up anyway." He turned to face Henry with the mix-matched set of utensils - enough for two. "But don't do it on my account. You look good...just the way you are."

Henry recognized the hidden meaning that was just Pike's way. Pike meant he liked Henry - really liked him - _just the way I am._ "I'll just take a quick one. I don't like my dates to be..." Henry stopped himself and swallowed hard from his sudden nervousness. _Oh crap._

Pike smiled. A big smile. "Is that what this is?"

_Crap. Crap. Crap._ "Isn't it?"

Pike looked as if he were considering his answer for what felt like days.

_Crap._

"Yeah." Pike nodded. "I guess it is."

Henry released a lungful of air before he even realized it and then immediately felt heat rush to his face from being so transparent. As he tried to figure out something clever to say, he saw Pike's face morph into a smirk. He was beginning to really like this side of his love interest. "You were messing with me." It wasn't a question.

"A little." Pike willingly confessed.

After taking the quickest shower of his life, Henry spent the next few hours eating a lovingly prepared meal and talking to a man he had known for most of his life - yet never really knew at all. As each moment passed Henry was reminded more and more of the fact that back in high school, when his unrequited pursuit of Dean Stewart took root, he had also found Pike to be a mysterious, handsome enigma. He would be lying if he didn't admit that on a few occasions Pike had been the center of his adolescent wet dreams.

And the more he heard Pike's gentle voice filling in details of his life that Henry had never bothered to know - the physical attraction of his hormone-driven youth merged with the mature admiration of Pike's soul and Henry felt the kind of desire he had never really felt before.

Even for Dean.

It was this new sensation that buzzed all around him as he walked Pike to his truck hours later. Pike had mentioned that he needed to get back to Frances, and Henry swore he heard regret in his voice. Pike leaned against the closed door of his ancient truck and pinned Henry to the spot with his eyes.

_God _- he just wanted to touch every inch of the gentle giant. The urges coursing through his body were so intense - mostly because Henry _**knew**_ that eventually he would have it - all of it - with Pike. It was hard to believe that it was only that morning that he decided _**not**_ to board a plane for New York, while at the same time Pike had chased after him to stop him from leaving. It was like a sappy romantic comedy. And now he felt like everything was going too fast and too slow all at once. He wanted to savor the moments and at the same time he wanted to rush into all of it right there next to Pike's truck. He settled somewhere in between when he took Pike by surprise - for a change - by pushing him against his truck and reaching up for a kiss.

Pike met him halfway and this time they didn't stop with a chaste press of lips.

Pike tasted like beets and buttery potatoes and something that Henry was sure was just the flavor of Pike himself. Henry decided he could definitely become addicted to the taste of this man's kisses. He wrapped his arms around Pike's waist and pulled their bodies flush. Pike was so warm -almost hot - and when Pike wrapped his long arms around Henry's shoulders it felt safe. It felt like coming home from his long journey in the constellations - the ones he had created from old loss and fear of connection.

He felt caught in all the right ways.

They took a quick breath as they changed the angle of their mouths and deepened the kiss with slow, sensual tangling of tongues. _God_ - nothing had ever felt go good.

So right.

As Pike pulled away, Henry fought the urge to bury his fingers into that long, dark hair to keep him there just a little bit longer.

Instead he looked into smoldering dark eyes and offered his own subtle suggestion. "Next time you should bring Frances."

He could see by the twinkling that emerged from underneath the blatant desire that Pike understood _**exactly**_ what Henry was suggesting. He leaned down - smiling, nodding, and kissing at the same time before he answered. "Maybe I should."

Henry watched Pike's tail lights disappear into the night and smiled. He had seen a side of Pike he never knew existed. He was seeing a side of Pike that probably _**no one**_ had seen before.

And he couldn't wait to get better acquainted.

_**PRESENT**_

Henry wasn't even trying to stop the tears as he impatiently waited for _**someone**_ to tell him _**something**_.

_Where the __**hell**__ is the damn doctor?_

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~4000

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

_**PRESENT DAY**_

"Henry?" Grace gently woke Henry from his fitful sleep. "The doctor's here."

That pulled him from his half-sleep fast. He jumped up from his seat and almost fell over from the head rush. Jim grabbed him by the arm and offered support. "Steady."

"How is he?" Henry almost begged.

"Pike looked a lot worse when we first assessed him than he is, Henry. He's going to be just fine." The doctor was the brother of Jim's wife's cousin.

"Details would be good, Bob." Jim kept a hold of Henry when he felt him sway.

"He's got a fractured wrist, several broken ribs, and a slight fracture of the hip. Nothing requiring surgery, but we want to keep an eye on the hip - those can bleed. He also has a couple of bumps on the head, but the scans look good and there's no bleeding in his noggin, so we're optimistic." Dr. Bob explained in a soothing tone. "But be prepared, Henry. He looks...it's not pretty."

"He's..." Henry sounded so desperate. "Can I see him?"

"Of course. He's heavily medicated, so he won't be awake. He looks bad, Henry. He took quite a beating. But trust me - he looks a lot worse than he is. He's going to be just fine."

"When can I take him home?" He never wanted to let him out of his sight again.

"At least a couple of days." Dr. Bob pointed to the wide hallway behind them. "He's in room 7B. I'll get another bed rolled in there for you."

Henry gripped the doctor's arm without thinking. "Thank you."

They all decided to give Henry some time alone with Pike before they crowded into his room to get their own visual reassurances that their gentle friend was _**really**_ going to be fine. But as Henry stood outside of room 7B, he wished he had them all with him. He wasn't sure he would be able to stay on his feet without someone holding him up.

With a deep, shaky breath, Henry pushed the door open and walked into the room. The lights had been dimmed, but he could still see very clearly.

_Pike. _

He stood just inside the door and took in the details. His lover was reclined in his hospital bed - not quite fully horizontal and not quite sitting either. He wasn't wearing a hospital gown, so Henry had full view of the wrapping around his ribs. There was a cast on his left arm, it was bright purple and stopped just below the elbow. Henry grinned sadly. _He's going to hate the purple cast._

Pike looked darker - not like when his complexion has been toasted by the sun - it was the kind of dark that comes from dozens and dozens of deep bruises. _So many._ They were everywhere.

_Everywhere._

He quietly stepped closer and sat on Pike's bed carefully. He needed to be close, to touch his warm skin and breathe in the earthy musk that had become Henry's favorite smell. He gingerly lifted the white sheet covering Pike from the waist down. He saw an football-shaped, very dark black bruise on Pike's left hip. It was then the he realized Pike's injuries were more pronounced along the left side of his body.

There was a thin patch of skin to the right of Pike's belly button, between the dark fluff of hair and the bottom of the tight wrap that covered most of his torso and chest. He placed his hand as gently as possible on that strip of undamaged flesh and caressed the warm body beneath it. He wasn't sure who he was trying to soothe more, his lover or himself. "What happened to you?" He managed to whisper before the emotion closed up his throat.

He kept his hand where it was, afraid that if he stopped touching - Pike would disappear. As he scanned his eyes over Pike's body - mapping every detail of both familiar and unfamiliar shades and textures. The concentration of injuries became much more dense as shoulders led to neck which led to the face that still looked beautiful despite the distortions of swelling and bruising and split skin on puffy lips and one dark eyebrow.

Henry stopped breathing when Pike opened his eyes - as much as he could - and looked back at him with that intensity that was just so Pike-like.

Henry almost cried.

He moved his hand gently across the patch of skin he had claimed only moments before. He couldn't seem to force words from his throat no matter how loud his heart was screaming Pike's name.

They just looked at each other. They had always been good at communicating with very few words. So this was enough.

For now.

Pike reached for Henry's other hand and wove his long, elegant fingers with the shorter, well-worn digits of his lover. The connection completed a comforting circuit for both men.

Henry finally unburied his voice from beneath his raw emotion. He tried to offer Pike a small smile. "Don't you think this is a little extreme to get me too cook for you?"

Pike only smiled, just a little, to let Henry know he got the joke - the absurdity of it was quite funny and under different circumstances would have earned Henry a good bit of rumbling laughter - but for now they would have to settle for a knowing glance.

_**FLASHBACK**_

Henry had been hanging around all day.

It didn't go unnoticed.

By anyone.

"Uh uh uh..." Jim teased. "He said stay out here."

"It's _**my**_ house." Pike complained while trying to hide his grin.

Jim pulled Pike away from the door that led to the modest apartment-style home in the back half of his store. "And he's _**your **_better half so you need to just do as you're told."

"Fine." Pike sulked.

Jim slapped him on the back. "Atta boy."

Pike endured the ribbing from the guys with more grace than most. It was fun to think about what Henry was up to all day. From the smells wafting from the rear of his property, he knew it had something to do with food...he just couldn't really identify what kind.

Henry spent his afternoon in isolation. He moved between Pike's cookbooks and every flat surface of Pike's kitchen. Nothing was working. He was under cooking, over cooking, over salting, too much vinegar, not enough oil. He just couldn't cook. It was frustrating.

It was with the hope of rescuing a very pale roasted chicken that he ventured to Pike's desk to google cooking tips. He thought it odd that the computer was on by the monitor was turned off. When he pushed the power button he was shocked by what appeared on the screen in front of him.

Pike was doing a little research of his own.

Henry could feel his face heat up. It was a little shocking to find his boyfriend's educational porn in all it's pixelated glory.

They had been dating for several months. At least _**their**_ version of dating. It was a routine that had started in the months before Sam died. Pike would cook and bring a box full of tantalizing smells and delicacies that never disappointed the palate. After they washed up the dishes they would settle in on the couch or sit outside under the stars if weather permitted.

They were efficient with conversation. They were indulgent with kisses and touches and the escalating comfort of exploring more and more of each other's bodies.

While Pike Dexter was a man of few words - he tended to be rather verbose when raging hormones were involved.

It was a quirky dichotomy that intrigued Henry to no end. He was getting more and more attracted to the mysterious man who was always full of surprises.

But Henry fell in _**love**_ - full-fledged-head-over-heels-in-_**love**_ - on the night Pike leaned back in an old adirondack chair and explained why Jim Soams was so central to his life.

Pike was orphaned. He was only fourteen. He wasn't a little kid and he wasn't a full grown man when his mother shot his father before she drove her car into a tree. It was Jim he ran to when they tried to take him to a group home on the reservation.

Because it was Jim who had been his haven from the war raging within his family ever since Jim coached the Big Eden Little League.

It was Jim who took him in when there was no one else to claim him as family.

Henry felt a new respect for Jim Soams as he listened to Pike telling his story as if it were one of his ancient tribal tales. Jim must be something special to keep Pike's heart so pure.

He also felt a rush of admiration for the man who couldn't look at him as he relayed the most painful time of his life. He just looked at the sky and revealed so much of himself with his soft cadence. He wanted to scream in that moment. He wanted to look right into Pike's eyes and scream '_I love you Pike Dexter!'_

He didn't though.

He got up from his own chair instead - stepped in front of the amazing man still staring at the stars - leaned onto the arms of Pike's chair until he was close enough to kiss him.

He's pretty sure Pike got the message - although he'd been meaning to say it out loud ever since.

"What are you doing?" Pike stood at the door of his small office.

The sound of Pike's voice pulled him from his solitary reminiscing. "I was looking for...help with dinner."

"You cooked?"

"Sort of." Henry swallowed nervously. "When I turned on your monitor I saw...um..."

Pike suddenly remembered what he had been looking at before Henry showed up earlier in the day. "Oh..."

"Yeah."

Pike just stood there, quietly pondering before he asked, "Are you mad?"

"No!" Henry shook his head vigorously while he blushed. "Are you?"

It took Pike a few seconds to consider the question. "No. I'm glad you found it."

"You are?" That wasn't the answer Henry expected.

Pike just nodded.

"Why?" It was hard to understand, especially when Henry knew that if roles were reversed, he would be steaming mad.

Pike shrugged his shoulders. "If I want to do that with you some day..." Pike pointed to the computer monitor. "...I think we should be able to...talk about it...or at least not keep things from each other, like..." He pointed to the computer again. "...I don't know what to call it...homework?"

"I've never seen homework like _**that **_before?" Henry tried to laugh through his embarrassment.

Pike just stood there for a few minutes. He didn't seem embarrassed - _**at all**_. "What'd you cook?"

Henry jumped up from the small desk and hurried to get away from the computer as if it were Pike's secret diary. As he brushed by Pike he was pulled into a full-press embrace. "I just want it to be good for you...when we...when we're ready."

"Are you...ready?" Henry asked and struggled not to blush even more than he was already.

Pike nodded before he kissed Henry deeply.

He could only kiss back because nothing really needed to be said after _**that**_. They pulled apart and were both a little flush and a little breathless.

Pike nipped at Henry's neck. He could feel Pike's lips smiling against his skin. "You gonna show me what you cooked?"

Henry really liked it when Pike got flirty. "Right this way."

Pike followed Henry into his small kitchen and looked into the casserole pan after Henry removed the lid. Pike leaned against Henry's back with his hands on Henry's hips and said with a voice laden with a smirk. "What is it?"

_**PRESENT**_

"What happened after you heard the noise coming from the front of your store?" The same Eureka officer stood near Pike's bed with his note pad and pen at the ready.

"I came out to see what it was and I think I scared them." Pike explained.

"Scared who, Mr. Dexter?" There was a little irritation in his tone.

"The kids." Pike answered.

"Kids?"

"There were...four, maybe five of them. All boys. None of them looked older than fourteen." Pike tried to fill in details. "I think I scared them."

"What makes you think that?"

Pike shrugged. "I'm big - they were all pretty small. I've been told that I can look intimidating without even trying - so I would think that to kids I would look like a huge threat. I think that's why they attacked me. They were scared."

"What were they doing when you surprised them?"

Pike thought about it for a few seconds, trying to remember. "Filling bags with beer and junk food. One of them was trying to get into the cash register."

"And when you walked into the store they just jumped you?"

"That's about it." Pike nodded. "I scared them."

"The medical reports indicate that you have defense wounds on your arms and hands, but there are no abrasions on your knuckles indicating that you fought back. Why is that?"

"Because I didn't."

"You were being attacked by four or five teenage boys and you didn't think to fight back?" The officer asked incredulously.

"I _**thought **_about it." Pike answered immediately. "I _**chose**_ not to. They were so small - I could have really hurt one of them. I didn't want to hurt them."

Pike looked at Henry after he said it, almost as if he needed affirmation that he did the right thing. Henry found it impossible not to touch. He gently carded his fingers through Pike's messy hair. They spoke to each other with their eyes - like they usually did - until Henry couldn't keep it inside of himself anymore. "I love you."

He realized that he needed to say it out loud a lot more often than he had been.

_Every day. I'll tell you how much I love you every day._

_**FLASHBACK**_

After they ate big bowls of steamed rice with cashews - prepared by Pike himself after they threw Henry's disastrous effort into the woods for the animals - Pike lifted Henry until he was sitting on the countertop next to the kitchen sink. He took the dish out of Henry's hand and set it in the sink. "We can do dishes later."

With one hand flanking each of Henry's hips, Pike stood between his legs and leaned in for a kiss. Henry's arms were around Pike's neck before he had time to think about it and he felt himself twitch a little below the belt when Pike slid his tongue past his lips.

They had gotten really good at this over the last few months. They made out like a couple of hormonal teenagers. Sometimes it was like this, hot, heavy and instantly arousing. Sometime it was slow and sweet and as gentle as Pike himself. As they became more comfortable with each other, they had escalated from simple kissing to full body contact - reclined on a couch or Pike's small bed - shirts off and hips grinding.

The first time they rubbed their erections together, Henry came on the spot. They were both still wearing clothes - so it was massy and _**really**_ embarrassing. His first instinct was to get away from Pike as fast as possible before he _**completely**_ humiliated himself.

Pike held onto him tighter when he felt Henry start to push himself away. "Don't." His voice sounded so deep and so _**so**_ sexy. He grabbed Henry's ass - dwarfing his cheeks with his big hands - and continued kiss and grind until he had made his own mess for laundry day.

Now Henry was being pulled closer, sliding across the counter until their zippers were pressed together. _Thank god for tall boyfriends._ Pike's groin was at just the right height to create the friction Henry craved. He was adding kitchen counter groping to his long, long list of _favorite-things-to-do-with-Pike_.

"Did you mean it." Pike asked between a kiss on Henry's mouth and a nip at Henry's neck.

Henry knew by the way Pike was talking that he was well on his way to that place where there's no room for shyness. Henry loves it when they got to that place. "Mean what?"

"Are you ready?" Pike trailed hot, wet kisses from neck to chin.

Henry answered the question with fingers buried into long, dark hair and a deep, hard press of lips-to-lips. He wrapped his legs around Pike when he felt himself being lifted off of the countertop.

"This okay?" Pike asked. He sounded a little breathless.

Henry nodded. Who the hell was he kidding - manhood be damned - the fact that his boyfriend could carry him to bed was hot as hell.

The large hands holding him up by his ass felt hot through the fabric of his clothes. Their kisses became harder and more reckless as Pike made his way into his small bedroom. By the time Henry came up for air he was standing between Pike's knees as Pike sat on the edge of the bed.

He sucked in a breath when he felt those warm hands sliding underneath his sweater. It wasn't that this was the first time Pike's hands had touched his bare skin - it was just the first time that it would lead to Pike touching something else. He pulled Pike's shirt off quickly by yanking and bunching fabric from the place where his hands were holding him up by Pike's wide shoulders.

Pike only let it interrupt his own exploring fingers for a second. He pushed soft knitting up Henry's tummy - then his chest - then his shoulders, neck, and head. He could already feel himself getting sweaty and cursed his tendency to sweat over the lightest exertion.

When he felt Pike's tongue follow a bead of sweat that rolled from the hollow of his throat all the way to his bellybutton he assumed that Pike didn't really mind that his boyfriend was a sweaty mess already. He heard himself make a strangled-groaning sound which only caused his dark-skinned lover - _lover? yes, we're definitely lovers...or we will be any minute_ - to bite him right beneath his innie.

Pike slowly unbuckled Henry's belt while he spoke. "Are you sure?" Dark eyes blazed.

Henry nodded vigorously.

"Stop me if..."

Henry leaned down enough to interrupt him with a kiss. "Not stopping."

Pike's fingers unbuttoned beige trousers. "We can stop if..."

"Pike..."

Pike spoke with reservation, but his hands were forging ahead with a slow undoing of Henry's zipper. "Just say the word and..."

"Not helping with the confidence here, Pike." Henry grabbed Pike's hands before they completed the task of removing his pants. He waited until Pike made eye contact. "Are _**you**_ sure _**you're**_ ready?"

"Yes." He _**sounded**_ sure.

"I'm sure, too."

"I've never done this before..."

"Like never done this before with a man or never done this before with anyone?" Henry had never really thought about it before, but it would make perfect sense that Pike would be a virgin.

Pike's silence answered the question. _He doesn't kiss like a virgin._ "Wow." Henry said before he pushed Pike hard so he fell onto his back and bounced a little on the mattress. He crawled onto the bed to straddle Pike's hips. He leaned over Pike's long body, "Wow," and kissed him.

Pike still looked concerned. "I don't...without ever having done this...I just don't want to hurt you so you tell me if we need to..."

"Pike." Henry stopped him from talking himself out of this. "You won't hurt me. You're incapable of hurting anyone - under any circumstance. It's just not possible."

"Okay." Pike said as his hands slid beneath both pants and underwear to grip Henry's bare cheeks and pull them closer together. He started pushing the fabric off while they began to move together.

_**PRESENT**_

They were finally alone again. Pike finished answering the official questions from the Eureka police followed by more questions from his Big Eden chosen family. Henry sat on the edge of Pike's bed the entire time. They never stopped holding hands.

Pike looked so tired.

"You need to rest now." Henry still brushed Pike's hair with his fingers - very, very gently.

"No." He was confused by the fear that suddenly appeared on Pike's features.

"I'm not leaving." Henry figured it out without much trouble. He pointed to the wall across the room. "See. They even brought me my own bed."

Pike took a long look at the bed against the wall before he focused his gaze back on Henry again. He had that look on his face - Henry knew it well - it was a mix between a pouting child and a desperate man. It was the way Pike looked at him when he felt needy or emotionally vulnerable or - _sometimes _- hungry for nourishment of a more carnal nature.

"Okay." Henry agreed without needing to be asked the question. He squeezed Pike's hand. "Make a little room for me, will ya?"

Pike scooted as much as his body would allow, which just happened to be enough for Henry to settle in on his right, less damaged, side. Pike made a perfect space for Henry to dovetail the curve of his shoulder into the crook of Pike's armpit. Henry's head automatically found the dip between shoulder and chest that seemed to be shaped for the sole purpose of cradling his head. He let himself cry quietly when he felt Pike's arm tighten around him as if he were holding him in place so he wouldn't disappear.

"I was so scared," Henry finally allowed himself to release the tension he had been holding all night long.

Pike tightened his hold on Henry even more and placed a soft kiss on the bald spot on top of Henry's head.

Henry closed his eyes and felt hot tears drop from his nose onto the warm skin beneath his cheek. "I thought you were gone...I found you and you looked...I thought I lost you."

Pike cradled Henry's head with his large hand, fingers easily curved around the shape of Henry's skull, "You didn't."

Henry slid his arm around Pike's wrapped waist. "It this okay?" He was so afraid of hurting his lover any more than he was already.

Pike's other arm, cast and all, moved until his fingers could brush against the arm in question. "Don't leave."

"I won't." _Never. Never ever. _

Pike's breathing slowed and his body relaxed. Henry was relieved that his lover was resting his battered body. He closed his eyes and burrowed into the flesh-and-bone nest Pike had created for him. He smelled sweat and betadine and disinfectant - but mostly he just smelled Pike.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~3800

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

_**FLASHBACK**_

The first thing to wake up was his nose.

He smelled bacon, eggs, and coffee. And toast…definitely toast. When he opened his eyes, he had to blink a few times to adjust to the sunlight pouring through the window of Pike's bedroom. He saw a tray of breakfast food sitting on the side table – still steaming hot. Pike walked in carrying a glass of orange juice and smiled when he realized Henry was awake. He placed the small glass onto the tray before he sat next to Henry on the bed. "Fresh squeezed."

Henry looked from the tray of scrambled eggs with all the fixings to the eyes of a satisfied looking Pike. "What time is it?"

"Around ten." Pike's hand was unconsciously massaging Henry's thigh.

"How long have you been awake?" He asked as he took another look at the delicious breakfast.

"I had to open the store." Pike sort of answered. "Jim's keeping an eye on things for a bit. I wanted to make you breakfast."

"Thank you." He wasn't used to this kind of attention. "Are all the guys out there?"

Pike nodded with a little playfulness twinkling in his eyes.

"And they all know I'm back here?" _Great. Just great. _

"They saw your truck."

"Oh." _Damn it._ "So it looks like I'm taking the walk of shame this morning."

"Walk of shame?" Pike's playfulness became wounded instantly.

"Oh…wait, no...I wasn't saying…" Henry realized that his new lover didn't know what that expression meant. "It just refers to when a person has to walk by a lot of people who know _exactly_ what he's been up to all night."

"Oh." Pike didn't look any less hurt. "Well…" He stood and backed toward the open door. "…eat, you didn't have a big dinner last night, so you must be hungry. I left a towel for you in the bathroom. A new toothbrush. You can just leave out of the back door. That way no one will see you."

And he was gone.

Henry knew he had really messed up. His first instinct was to jump from the bed and run after his sensitive boyfriend. But being naked made that difficult. Besides, he needed to think this through and make a statement. He needed to make sure Pike understood very clearly that there was absolutely no shame in loving him – in _**making love**_ to him.

He ate his breakfast, which was beyond delicious. His thoughts were all over the place, but mostly centered around Pike. His lover was such a contradiction. It was confirmed during the hours they had spent tangled up in sweaty bliss - Pike Dexter was _**not**_ a shy lover. He moved confidently – wasn't hesitant to try new things – had no difficulty expressing everything he was feeling.

And mostly what Pike was feeling was want and need for more of Henry Hart - as hard as that was to believe.

Pike had gushed into almost every inch of Henry's skin – almost as if he were talking to the flesh itself – words of desire and love. '_Taste so good – I love the way you feel – You were made to fit into my hand – You were made to fit into my mouth._' And as they drifted into an exhausted sleep – spooned together perfectly, Pike whispered into his ear, '_You were made for me – perfect fit_.'

Pike made Henry feel sexy. Pike made Henry feel like a man. Pike made Henry almost proud of the meager six fully erect inches he usually apologized for during the rare occasions he would allow himself to indulge in the beer-goggle induced advances of others - or so Henry always believed that to be the case - because there was _**no way**_ a sober gay man would want anything to do with _**him**_.

And Pike – my god – Pike was beautiful with his dark, smooth skin that tasted like a bon fire and smelled like the woods. Pike was a big man – very big – and very, very conscious of the fact. And while Henry couldn't take all of his lover into his mouth in the same way Pike could deep throat him into oblivion – he more than made up for it with clever tricks of fingers, teeth, and tongue.

At least that's what Pike said right before he came into Henry's mouth. And _**damn**_ - he tasted _**so good.**_ It reminded Henry of the smoked salt served in the gourmet steak houses in New York.

_And now he thinks I'm ashamed of what we shared together last night...great Henry._ He rolled his eyes at himself.

That just wouldn't do.

After a quick, hot shower, Henry dressed in the same clothes he wore the day before – clothes that had been thoughtfully washed, dried, and folded neatly onto the end of the bed. He walked into the store front proudly - right past the huddle of men sitting around the circle of chairs near Pike's Cappuccino station. "Morning Fellas." He said without taking his eyes off of Pike.

He could feel four pairs of eyes on his back as he walked around the counter to reach for Pike's neck and pull him into a passion-filled kiss. He was relieved when Pike kissed back enthusiastically.

With a great deal of reluctance he pulled away from Pike's probing tongue and spoke loud enough to be heard from across the room. "I'm not ashamed of us."

Pike answered with another crushing kiss before he whispered so only Henry could hear. "Thank you."

Henry smiled at his very sweet man. "I really don't want to go."

"I know." Pike's fingers grazed the skin underneath the back of Henry's soft sweater.

It felt so good. "I need to take care of a few things."

Pike nodded. "I'm busy with the store anyway."

"Right." Henry kissed him one final time before he pulled away completely. "You should come over later. I bought a dog bed for Frances."

That brought out the full-wattage smile Henry loved to see. Pike knew _**exactly**_ what Henry was proposing for later. "She'll like that."

_**PRESENT**_

The fact that Henry had been sitting by Pike's side for almost an hour – watching him sleep – was a true indication of just how injured the man was.

Pike was the morning person – Henry _**always**_ slept as late as possible – meaning he never had to make his own coffee.

Henry's hand had found the patch of unmarred skin and he gently caressed his sleeping lover. The morning light streaming through the large hospital room window gave Henry a better view of the extent of damage. "You really took a beating, Babe." He said sadly.

"I must look pretty bad if you're calling me Babe." Pike's voice was rough, his eyes were still closed.

Henry's thumb lightly brushed along the hip bone beneath his hand. "Hey there, Big Guy. How ya feelin'?"

"Head hurts." Pike kept his eyes closed and rolled his head away from the light coming through the open shade.

"Hold on…" Henry hurried to pull the shade closed and returned to his rightful place beside his man. "That should help."

"It hurts everywhere." Pike admitted.

Henry knew it must be bad, because Pike never complained about anything - no matter what. "What can I do for you?"

"You're already doing it." He sounded grim.

Henry heard Pike's tummy grumble and he wanted to smack himself for not thinking about the fact that Pike hadn't eaten since the previous afternoon. "Do you think you could eat anything? You need to keep your strength up."

"I can try." He said it like he was only going to try so _**Henry**_ would feel better.

"I'll go find you something." Henry took what he could get and went with it. "I'll be right back."

Henry wasn't looking where he was going as he hurried out of Pike's room. He wasn't accustomed to seeing his partner so...defeated and vulnerable. When he ran into Jim - literally - he almost fell from the bounce-back. Jim caught him by the shoulders before he could get too far gone.

"Whoa, Henry." Jim's soothing voice was exactly what Henry needed. "You in a hurry, Son?"

"I just need to get Pike something to eat." Henry suddenly felt like crying.

"Now don't you go worrying about that." Jim squeezed Henry's shoulder. "Grace is on her way with a nice basket of Pike's favorites."

"She..." Henry couldn't stop the waterworks now. "...I should be...I mean...god, Jim."

"It's alright, Henry." Jim understood. "You let us help you take care of him right now. It's the way we take care of _**you**_, too."

Henry nodded while he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. They waited for Grace outside of the glass double doors leading to the information desk that served the entire small hospital It was staffed by an ancient volunteer in a crisp red-and-white candy striped tunic. When Grace arrived, she shoved the picnic basket into Jim's belly and wrapped her arms around a very unhappy Henry Hart. "Oh, Henry." She soothed.

"He says he'll try to eat." Henry leaned on Grace a little. "I think he's just doing it for me though. Did you bring something that won't be too hard on his stomach?"

"Course I did." She smiled into his hair. "It's good to know you're thinking about it though. Good boy."

Dr. Bob was looking under the sheet that still covered Pike's lower half when they all walked into the room. Pike's eyes were closed, head still angled away from the window, which was open again - allowing bright light to fill the room. "I just closed that." Henry huffed as he stomped across the room to close the shade again.

"Oh - sorry." Dr. Bob said. "I needed a little light."

"He's got a screaming headache - the light hurts." Henry explained.

"Sorry, Pike." Dr. Bob looked down at his patient. "Does your head hurt all over or in one spot?"

It took a few seconds for Pike to respond.

Which freaked Henry out immensely.

He was at his lovers bedside instantly, holding his good hand and hovering a little. "Pike?"

Hearing Henry's voice seemed to be exactly what he needed. He turned his head toward the sound of it and without opening his eyes he squeezed Henry's hand and finally answered the question. "All over."

"Dull throb or sharp and steady." Dr. Bob asked.

Pike squeezed Henry's hand again.

"I think it hurts to talk." Henry interpreted. Pike sigh faintly and Henry knew he had guessed right.

"Hmmmmm." Dr. Bob said with a wrinkled brow,

Henry panicked. "Hmmm? Hmmmm, what? What does Hmmmm mean?"

"It means I want to take another look inside that head of his." He clarified. "Just to be sure."

_Oh god._ Henry leaned over Pike's pained face and kissed him softly on the temple. He whispered in a shaky voice, trying not to make Pike's headache worse. "Love you."

Pike replied with a solid squeeze of his hand.

"The good news is that there doesn't seem to be any bleeding in his hip. So if everything looks good in his head, you can take this guy home tomorrow." Dr. Bob looked optimistic.

Henry gently nuzzled Pike's hair. "Ya hear that, Big Guy? I'm taking you home."

The single tear that rolled down Pike's bruised cheek said everything that needed to be said.

_**FLASHBACK**_

Pike walked through Henry's door without knocking. For whatever reason, he had stopped knocking around the same time they had started having sex. "Henry?" He called from the kitchen as he placed the box containing dinner onto the kitchen counter. Frances curled up on the dog bed under the table.

She had one in every room of the house now.

"You're early!" Henry sounded happy.

Because he _**was**_ happy.

He was even happier when he saw how happy Pike seemed to be the second he turned around and laid eyes on him. Pike bent down a little to wrap his arms around Henry's waist. He lifted Henry off his feet until they were both eye-to-eye.

Henry loved it when Pike did that - not that he would ever admit it.

"Jim is closing the store for me." Pike said between kisses.

Henry kissed back. "I've been thinking about you all day."

"I made a casserole." Pike pecked Henry on the neck as he started moving Henry backward.

Henry knew where this was going - or at least he hoped he did. "Okay."

"We can heat it up later." Pike finished his thought.

Almost.

He made himself _**perfectly**_ clear the minute he lowered Henry onto his bed and crawled on top of him.

Henry chuckled a little. "This is exactly what I've been thinking about."

They couldn't seem to get enough of this. It took a while to get there - it was a little intimidating after all.

Pike is a _**very**_ big man.

_**Big.**_

Henry wasn't sure he would ever be brave enough to even try it. The fact that he had never done it before with anyone else made it even more intimidating. He didn't know what to expect.

But there was something that happened to them when they started heating up together. Inhibitions slowly slipped away - words became much freer - and before they knew it they would cross over to the place where they were the only two that existed. It was like they took flight into the stars for just a little while - dancing a primal dance without any sense of the world below. There was no room for shyness or insecurities because everything felt _**so good**_.

So that first time - while they were once again in the haze that orbited their little star in the sky - Henry heard himself almost begging for more. _'Please Pike...please...please..."_

Pike stilled at the sound of it. He knew exactly what Henry wanted and he looked into Henry's eyes with a piercing resolve. _'We'll go slow.'_

And they did. So agonizingly slow. Pike was careful and loving and gentle. Henry knew he would be. What was a surprise was how _**good**_ it felt. After fumbling with the unfamiliar application of lube - they would master that mess later - the initial pain from the extreme stretch ebbed and he just felt full. So _**full**_. Pike was inside of his body. Inside. _**All**_ of him - every _**single**_ _**inch**_ of him. _**Inside.**_ And as Pike murmured _'sogoodsogoodsogoodsogood'_ against Henry's neck he started moving - slow - so _**so**_ slow. Henry was sure he was going to just pass out from the pleasure - the amazing fullness that burned and pulsed at the same time. He could feel every ridge and bump and throbbing vein as Pike moved inside of him. And when he felt Pike brush against his prostate he couldn't stop himself from begging for '_harder'_ and '_faster'_ and _'yeah, just like that'_ until the room was filled with the sounds of bodies slapping together, the slippery wet sound that comes from way too much lube, and the deep strangled moans from two men who waited their whole lives to feel this _**good**_.

They just wanted to feel it over and over and over.

All the time.

So dinner had become a midnight snack on most nights. And although they had reversed roles on a few occasions - Henry had accepted the fact that he was officially a bottom - a happy, satisfied, completely unapologetic, proud bottom.

Pike seemed to like it that way, too.

This night was no exception. After they had exhausted themselves _**again**_, Pike pulled Henry into a tight spoon and skimmed his hand along the entire length of Henry's body - from thigh to hip to chest and back down. Over and over. He nuzzled into Henry's sweaty neck, his own damp hair tickling Henry's shoulder. "Mmmmmm." Pike expressed his satisfaction against Henry's skin.

The cuddling was nice. It always was. Another surprise. "You should move in." It was out of his mouth before he could stop himself. Damn orgasms. They just made him stupid.

"You want me to live here?" Pike didn't seem freaked out at all. Just curious and a little taken by surprise.

Henry rolled over. He thought they should be looking at each other for this particular conversation. He placed an open palm on Pike's smooth chest and enjoyed looking at the contrast between the dark and light complexions. "Have you ever thought about it?"

Pike nodded. "Seems like I already have a lot of stuff here."

Henry smiled. He liked the direction this was going. "Yeah. And you're here all the..."

"Frances likes it here." Pike interrupted.

Henry grinned. "She does." He agreed.

_**PRESENT**_

"Home sweet home." Henry held the door open while Pike gingerly stepped over the threshold.

Frances was sniffing around Pike's knees as soon as he stepped into the house. She was being careful - as if she knew her human was in a fragile condition. "Hey girl. Did you miss me?"

Henry swore he saw the dog nod before she licked Pike's hand. He placed his palm on the small of Pikes back and gently pushed him toward the bedroom. "Let's get you settled in. Frances can keep you company while I warm up dinner."

Pike groaned playfully.

Henry chuckled. "Don't worry - I didn't cook it."

"We wouldn't do that to ya, Pike." Dean appeared from the warm, paneled den. "Anna stocked you boys up for the week."

A blur of stomping little feet rushed past Dean until they were swirling around Pike. Francis was not too pleased. "Pike, Pike, Pike, Pike..."

"That's enough, Boys." Dean tried to wrangle his sons before they did any damage. "Andrew! Ben!"

"It's fine." Pike sounded tired, but not in any way irritated.

"What happened?" Ben asked while he grabbed onto Pike's purple cast.

Andrew gasped. "Are you okay?"

"I will be." Pike answered.

"Your bracelet!" Andrew screeched.

Pike put his free hand into his front pocket to pull out his thin, woven leather bracelet. "It's right here." He gave it to Andrew. "You guys hold onto it for me until I get my cast off."

Henry could see the strain on Pike's face. "Okay guys. It's time for Pike to get some rest. You can come back and see him in a couple of days."

After a few complaining whines, Dean managed to get his sons to the truck. He turned to wave to Henry, who stayed just inside of his door so he wasn't too far away from his injured lover. He mouthed _'thank you'_ to Dean, who simply nodded and smiled.

Right before Dean closed his truck door he called to Henry, "Take care of our guy."

_**FLASHBACK**_

They were on their way to the Stewart place for Ben's birthday.

Henry watched Pike, who was nervously gripping and ungripping the gear shift of his old truck as he drove with that how-did-I-let-myself-get-talked-into-this look on his face.

"You alright?" He asked after he placed his hand on top of Pike's.

Pike nodded.

"Pike?"

"I'm just..." Pike pulled his hand free with a huff of exasperation. "I'm not good with...in..."

"Social situations?" Henry completed his sentence.

He found himself doing that more and more often. Pike seemed almost relieved every single time.

Pike nodded.

"It's the Stewarts. And Anna. You know them."

Pike nodded again before he reached over to grab Henry's hand in silent apology.

It was a low-key evening - burgers and hot dogs and all of the usual side dishes that go with them. Anna made the cake - chocolate with fudge icing. Pike helped with the dishes despite Mrs. Stewart insisting otherwise. All in all, the evening went well. It seemed that Pike's nerves were forgotten after the first pass of the potato salad.

It was in the moments after Ben opened presents that Henry's heart fluttered in his chest a little. He watched Pike's big hands carefully tie a braided leather bracelet onto Ben's tiny wrist. Ben stood between Pike's legs, leaning on his chest seemingly mesmerized by Pike's deep voice. He explained the symbolism behind the braiding of the leather tied around his wrist. It was cut from a much longer piece of woven, worn leather. Only a handful of bracelets can be cut from a single braid and the man who did the braiding must be very selective in who he choses to wear them.

"This represents our connection - a tribal brotherhood. Wearing this means you are tied to me and I am tied to you and we are tied to all others who wear a piece of this braid." Pike finished tying the knot securely in place and held his own wrist next to Ben's to show him how they matched.

Andrew watched from Pike's left side. "Andrew." Pike held out another bracelet and waited for Andrew to offer his wrist. The boy was beside himself with joy.

Henry unconsciously fiddled with his own matching band of braided leather and felt himself tumbling deeper into love. But it wasn't until Dean walked them out to Pike's truck that Henry realized that he would probably never stop falling more in-love because this man - who had done the unthinkable and chosen _**him**_ to love - was...unreal.

Henry swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched Pike pull his hand out of his front pocket and place a simple, braided leather bracelet into the hand of Dean Stewart. "Thank you for the invitation."

Henry could see the shimmer from the reflection of moonlight in Dean's tear brimmed eyes. "Thank you for coming. It means a lot to the boys." Dean clenched his fist around the small offering that held huge implications. "Means a lot to me too."

They drove home in comfortable silence. Words weren't their thing and it worked for them - _**really**_ worked.

Henry placed his hand on Pike's upper thigh and squeezed. "I hate to break it to ya, but you're pretty good in social situations."

Pike's brilliant smile said everything that needed to be said.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Catching the Stars (4/14)

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~3700

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

_**PRESENT**_

Pike was in deep sleep before Henry had even finished brushing his teeth. The pain meds hit him hard. Henry crawled underneath the warm bedding and propped himself up on an elbow so he could look...just look. Pike's face was a little less swollen, his wrapped chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Henry knew the bruises were deeper and darker on the parts of Pike's body that were covered by blankets and he couldn't stop himself from crying quietly, so he wouldn't wake his lover.

He had waited his whole life to find the kind of love he and Pike shared. He may not have been expecting it - he certainly didn't expect _**Pike**_ to be part of it - but now that he has it, _**with Pike**_, the thought of losing the wonderful, almost magical love they shared left him feeling achingly empty. Someone carelessly and hatefully _**almost**_ took his true love away - almost took the best part of hie_** life**_ away. He couldn't stop thinking about it.

He faded into sleep without even realizing it.

The heat was all around him as he woke. He was burrowed beneath the soft old sheets and ancient quilts. Pike radiated heat when he slept and it felt like being baked gently in a warm oven. It was a little confusing to his sleep addled brain. He could see the brightness of morning light through his eyelids and yet Pike was still in bed.

Pike's never in bed after the sun rises.

It took him a few seconds to understand the feeling of fear that the thought caused in his chest. Then it all came together in a blur of horrible memories.

Pike was home because he had been hurt.

And even if he_** wasn't**_ battered from head to toe - his store was a wreck and would be for weeks. So either way - Pike was home when he should be a few hours into his work day.

It felt like a punch to the gut to think about how this must feel for his fiercely independent boyfriend.

He reached across the few inches that separated them to touch Pike's warm skin, finding cotton beneath his fingers instead. He felt his throat close up from the emotion Pike's wrapped ribs stirred up.

He finally opened his eyes - he just needed to see that Pike was really there. He was met with the intense gaze of his lover. The sight of it left him feeling a little breathless. He wondered when he started thinking of Pike as _beautiful._

He could feel himself smile. "What are you doing?"

"I've never watched you wake up before." Pike answered.

Henry scooted a little closer. "That's because you're not lazy like your boyfriend."

"My boyfriend's not lazy." Pike reached for Henry's hand.

"So, do I drool?" Henry tried to lighten Pike's mood.

Pike's released Henry's hand and trailed his fingers along the sensitive skin covering Henry's unmarred ribcage until he was touching his stubbly face. "I love you, Henry."

"I blame it on the head wound." Henry teased as he grabbed Pike's hand to kiss his fingers. He saw the warning in Pike's eyes. Henry had promised a long time ago that he would curb the self-deprecation. "I love you, too." He sighed.

_**FLASHBACK**_

Pike stood near a concrete pillar near the middle of a large, industrial loft-style gallery. Henry's art was hanging on every wall. The artist in question was standing in a small circle of finely-dressed art patrons, Mary Margaret flanking one side.

Every now and then Henry would look around in search of his hard-to-miss lover, but it was like Pike had just vanished.

In reality, he had just found a great little hiding place standing behind the wide pillar so he could watch Henry nervously entertain his admirers. Henry insisted he had no such thing - admirers were for the beautiful people of the world. He said he found it impossible to believe that anyone would admire a slouch like him.

Pike never understood how Henry could be so blind to his own magnificence. He looked even more so tonight and Pike couldn't take his eyes off of him.

They had gone shopping after they checked into their hotel - the Bryant Park Hotel to be exact. Between the over-the-top suite, courtesy of Mary Margaret, and the young, hip hotel clientele - both men felt a little out of place. Mary Margaret met them at the clothing store and had a stack of perfectly matched outfits ready to try on.

After almost an hour of trying, she finally selected the outfits they would wear to Henry's opening. The black slacks, green silk shirt, and shiny black shoes with matching belt were outside of Pike's comfort zone, but he wore them because Mary Margaret said it would be best for Henry if his partner looked dressed for the occasion. And Pike would do anything for Henry.

Except the tie. He tried, but it just felt like he was being strangled so he took it off and shoved it in his pocket.

He thought Henry looked really, _**really**_ good in his own black slacks. Mary Margaret had picked a dark brown shirt that shimmered when Henry moved. He had taken his tie off too, in a show of solidarity.

Pike was enjoying watching his insecure lover struggle through being the center of attention when his imaginary isolation bubble was burst by two men who chose _**his**_ hiding spot to hold a conversation.

"I heard he's living with some gas-jockey in Alaska." One of the perfectly put together men said.

"No. It's a stock boy in Wyoming." The other one scoffed. "I heard he's hot - like in an exotic sort of way. He's Hawaiian or something."

"I heard he was an Eskimo."

"Eskimo?" His friend laughed. "There's no such thing as an Eskimo."

"Yeah - they're the people who lived in Alaska before we bought it."

"Bought it?" The man obviously thought his friend was a complete idiot. "We didn't...whatever, they're called Native Alaskans, not Eskimos." He patronized. "And those people are never hot - exotic maybe - but _**not**_ hot."

"That's what I heard - he's hooked up with a hideous Eskimo who pumps gas for a living."

Pike was getting ready to find another hiding place when the man with the superiority complex spoke to him. "That's Henry Hart."

Pike just looked at the man with a crinkled brow.

"That guy you keep staring at - he's the artist - Henry Hart." He explained.

"He's dripping with talent apparently." His companion chimed in. "It's a shame it's being wasted."

"Be nice, Franco. It's not Henry's fault that he's genetically predisposed to looking like that."

Franco chortled. "At least he finally found his unattractive match with the hideous Eskimo gas jockey."

"Stock boy!" Franco's friend insisted. "And he's hot. I heard from a good source."

"Henry Hart couldn't get a hot guy in bed if he paid him." Franco argued. "I mean look at him. Mary Margaret can dress him up all she wants, but a wart hog is still a wart hog, no matter what he's wearing."

"Now you're just being a catty little bitch, Franco." The prissy man turned to Pike. "What do you think?"

Pike was a little confused by the sudden question from a man he had never met. "About?"

"Hart. You're pretty hot _**and**_ exotic as hell..."

"You'd be perfect if you just worked out a little."

"Ignore him. You're hot. So would you go for something like that?" Franco's friend pointed toward Henry.

"You know him?" Pike asked.

"Henry?" Franco chimed. "Yeah - we've known Henry for..." He looked at his friend. "...how long has it been, Sedrick?"

"About ten years." Sedrick said after thinking about it for a second.

Franco returned his attention to Pike, leaning a little closer. "Henry's one of our best friends. Well, he was before he moved in with the hot Hawaiian stock boy."

Pike just looked at the two men for a few seconds. He understood Henry's insecurity so much more now. "Excuse me." He said politely before he walked away.

As he made his way toward his lover he wondered if all of Henry's New York friends were as shallow and unkind. He watched as Henry finally caught sight of him and felt his heart melt just a little by the look of relief on Henry's face.

"Hey Pike, I've been looking for you." Henry said as Pike joined the little group surrounding his boyfriend.

"I've been looking at your exhibit." He fibbed to spare Henry's feelings and then said something he thought Henry really needed to hear more often. "I'm so proud of you."

Henry's face broke into a giant, happy smile. When Pike put his arm around his shoulders, Henry literally beamed. He reciprocated with his own arm snaking around Pike's waist before he turned to the odd assortment of artist's groupies. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to my partner, Pike Dexter."

Pike noticed Franco and Sedrick staring at them with matching shocked expressions. Pike pulled Henry a little closer.

They found themselves sitting at Del Frisco's Steakhouse after the opening, surrounded by gallery patrons and a handful of Mary Margaret's interpretation of Henry's friends. Pike noticed Sedrick and Franco staring and whispering a lot. He had a pretty good idea what they were whispering about, too. It made him want to scoop Henry up and hop on the next flight home.

"That's Sedrick and Franco." Henry's words ghosted across Pike's neck as Henry whispered privately.

It caught Pike off guard. "Hm?"

"Those guys you're staring at." Henry clarified. "That's Sedrick and Franco."

Pike turned his head enough to look into Henry's eyes as he spoke. Their mouths were achingly close because Henry didn't move to accommodate the face-to-face situation. "Was I staring?"

Henry grinned. "You know you were. I can't blame you - everyone stares at them." Henry tried to keep it light, but Pike could see the pain and insecurity lurking in his eyes. "They're cute."

"Cute?" Pike asked.

"Yeah, cute." Henry smirked. "Don't act like you didn't notice."

Pike shook his head ever-so-slightly. "I...didn't...I don't think they're cute at all."

Henry contemplated for a moment without moving. "I take it you met them."

Pike nodded.

"That explains it. You're not the type to think jerks like Franco and Sedrick are cute."

"_**You're**_ cute." Pike smiled. "You look really nice tonight." Pike thought the blush that tinted Henry's cheeks looked nice too. "How long do we need to..."

"I'm ready whenever you are." Henry interrupted. He had _that _look in his eyes as he rushed his words.

Pike finally closed the tiny space between their mouths and placed a solid, but brief, kiss on Henry's lips. "I just need to use the restroom real quick."

"Okay." Henry said with his eyes still closed. "I'll say goodbye to Mary Margaret."

Pike wasn't accustomed to public urination, so he chose to lock himself into one of the private toilets instead of standing at one of the bright, white porcelain urinals. He was surprised to find Sedrick - or Franco - whoever - standing at the row of sinks when he exited his stall. He walked to the sink farthest away from the man to quickly wash his hands.

Sedrick-Franco just leaned against his sink and stared at Pike in a way that was uncomfortable and nerve-wracking. "So you're the stock-boy?"

Pike didn't answer as he moved to the paper towel dispenser.

"What is it? Does he have money? Is he the only option in Wyoming?" He asked while stepping toward Pike. "Because you could do so much better than a hag like Henry Hart."

That was more than Pike could tolerate. "Montanta." He corrected before he turned to face the horrible little man who was standing way too close now. "Didn't you say you're a friend of Henry's?"

"I am. I like him despite his obvious deficits." Sedrick-Franco said it as if he were doing Henry a favor. "He's a brilliant artist. Might even be a little famous someday. That makes him worth knowing."

Pike now knew exactly the kind of person deserving of the label _vile creature_. "Excuse me." He didn't think there was anything left to say.

By the time he made it back to the large table, Henry was standing. Mary Margaret was at his side, doing the work of a best friend and top-notch agent by saying all of the gracefully polite and confident words to the table full of admirers that Henry was usually too shy to come up with on his own. Pike draped a long arm over Henry's shoulders while glaring in the direction of the vile creature and his vile companion at the other end of the table.

Henry seemed to get a boost from the contact, he suddenly found his voice. "Thank you all for joining Pike and I. We both enjoyed our evening with you." Henry turned his head to smile at Pike. "You ready to head out?"

Pike nodded. He scanned the table while adding his own. "It's been a pleasure meeting you."

As soon as they settled into the back of the taxi and instructed the driver on where to take them, Henry looked at Pike gratefully. "Thank you for coming here."

Pike was a little confused. "Where else would I be tonight?"

Henry shook his head. "No, I mean thank you for coming _**here**_. To New York. I know how much you hate being away from home...and your store...but I'm _**so glad**_ you're here. So thank you."

Pike delicately brush his fingers through Henry's hair - just enough to feel comforting without causing Henry to worry about losing more hair. "I don't hate it so much when I'm with you."

That earned him a very sweet kiss.

Pike was pressed against Henry's back within an hour. He pushed Henry until he stood in front of the full length mirror that was also the door of the hotel room's closet. He stood behind Henry, his arms around Henry's chest and waist. He kissed Henry's neck as he looked into Henrys eyes via the mirror in front of them and whispered against his skin. "You look really nice."

"You already said that tonight." Henry was already sweating from the desire Pike was stirring up in his belly.

"It bears repeating." Pike's hands roamed.

Henry leaned back and rolled his head on Pike's shoulder. "Thanks to Mary Margaret's impeccable fashion sense."

Pike bit Henry's neck just a little too hard. "No." His hands met at Henry's belt buckle. He slowly unbuckled. unfastened, unzipped..._**undressed**_ Henry while never losing eye contact in their refections. Once he had Henry completely naked he cupped the hardness between Henry's legs. "You still look nice."

_**PRESENT**_

"More coffee?" Henry asked after hopping up and grabbing Pike's half-empty cup. He had been fussing over Pike all morning.

Pike grabbed Henry's wrist before he got too far away. "Just sit, Henry."

Henry placed his cup back onto the table. "Did you get enough to eat? There's more cereal."

"I'm good." Pike squeezed Henry's hand. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry about the cereal - I could have made eggs and bacon. Toast. I could have made toast. I just didn't want to...mess it up. Cereal seemed like a safe bet. I can still make eggs though."

"This was fine."

"Toast?"

Pike smiled. "This was perfect. Really."

"Okay." Henry looked unconvinced. He sat in the nearest chair. "Can I do anything for you?"

"I want to go to the store."

"You...can't." Henry swallowed hard. "I mean...you're...you still have...you can't."

"I just need to see...check on it...for myself."

Henry grabbed Pike's hand. "I just got you home." He tried another tactic.

"I was only gone two days and you never left my side." Pike argued.

"I just think you need to take it easy for a few days." Henry soothed by rubbing the back of Pike's hand with his thumb. "You're still limping and you're head took a pretty hard hit. You don't want to get another one of those headaches, do you?"

"Henry..." Pike pulled Henry's hand to his lips and kissed it. "...I just need to see."

Henry knew Pike meant it - he really _**did**_ need to see - but Henry also knew how devastating the sight of it would be for his sweet love. Dexter's General Store was as much a part of Pike as his long, dark hair and quiet, reserved kindness. Pike had invested all of himself in every way possible into that store. It was one of the threads that wove the fabric of Big Eden. Pike was proud of it.

And it was currently torn apart.

Henry knew he had no choice - he would take Pike to his store and he would do his best to hold Pike together. "When?"

"After I clean up - my hair feels...I really want to take a shower." Pike looked almost embarrassed. "I might need a little help."

Henry smiled while he brushed a strand of stringy, black hair from Pike's face. "Nothing would make me happier."

Henry was so careful. He followed Pike into the bathroom that had been equipped with an accessible shower for Sam. "Just let me do all the work, okay?"

Pike simply nodded and gave Henry complete control. Henry carefully removed Pike's bathrobe and unwrapped his ribcage. "Don't move around too much without support." Henry said softly as he double-bagged Pike's cast.

It wasn't the most graceful process, especially the hair washing. Between Pike being so tall and Henry being so short - well, it was a challenge - especially considering Pike couldn't really stoop or bend. But Henry got the job done and soon he was carefully and gently drying Pike's skin with a soft towel. He couldn't resist kissing the dark bruise on Pike's hip.

He was just so damn _**grateful**_.

"Let's get this on." Henry said more to give Pike a little warning before he wrapped the tight-fitting, velcro-fastened, girdle-like rib wrap around him. "Does that feel okay?"

Pike winced before he nodded.

"Okay." Henry hated seeing Pike in pain. He grabbed a pair of black boxer-briefs - his personal favorite despite the fact that Pike preferred looser fitting underwear - and kneeled in front of his lover. He gently tapped Pike's left ankle, "Lift."

"Why'd you pick those?" Pike complained about Henry's choice. Pike usually only wore them for 'date night'.

"Because you need something a little more supportive right now." Henry smirked a little. "The fact that you look hot in them is only a perk." He gently pulled the briefs up and over various injuries, being especially careful of the worst of them on Pike's hip. "Sweatpants or jeans?"

"Seems you're in charge." Pike tried to hide his petulance as he adjusted himself in the underwear.

"Sweatpants it is, then." Henry ignored Pike's pout. He helped Pike step into the loose fitting track pants that were normally only worn around the house. He chose the biggest flannel shirt in Pike's side of the closet because pulling a t-shirt on would be almost impossible at the moment.

Pike looked at himself in the mirror as Henry once again knelt in front of him to work on some socks and shoes. "Looks like Ben or Andrew dressed me."

"It's not the prom, Pike." Henry teased.

"Can we just go, please." Pike was obviously not in the mood for levity.

Henry tied the laces on the second shoe and didn't acknowledge the tension between them. "Yep."

He saw the dark cloud grow over Pike's head the moment he pulled the truck in front of the store. It was obvious that the guys had been working non-stop for the past three days. There were piles of destruction along side piles of new construction materials and right in the center of the chaos was the shattered remains of Pike's former cold case. Pike jumped from the truck before Henry had come to a complete stop.

"Careful, Pike!" He couldn't stop himself from yelling a little. He was so worried about Pike's physical condition.

He managed to get parked and rushed inside of the store. Pike was standing in the middle of his currently torn apart business. Jim stood at his side, gently rubbing Pike's shoulders.

Henry stepped to Pike's other side and grabbed his good hand. "I'm so sorry."

Pike just swept his eyes around the store, trying to take it all in. The place had been gutted. No stocked shelves. No frosted glass cold case. His precious cappuccino station was gone. There was no circle of chairs. The small, contained cube of counter and cash register - where he reigned over his little retail kingdom - was no longer there. It was no longer Dexter's General Store - it was just a big, empty, ugly room. "It'll never be the same."

"No it won't, Son." Jim soothed in his straight-forward way. "But we're working hard to make sure it's even better than before."

Pike walked away without a word. He made his way toward the back part of the building to continue with his visual assessment. Jim leaned toward Henry to speak quietly enough for Pike not to hear. "We haven't had a chance to start on the back yet."

"How bad is it?" Henry asked. He hadn't see much of the damage when he had found Pike. The only thing he could focus on was his bleeding, unconscious lover.

Jim simply place a warm hand on Henry's back. "Let's just say you might want to get back there - I think Pike's gonna need you."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~3500

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

_**PRESENT**_

To say he was stunned would have been an extreme understatement. Henry was absolutely, devastatingly speechless. What used to be Pike's home was completely trashed. The sitting room was bad enough, but it was the kitchen that literally gutted him.

As Henry walked slowly through the destruction he thought about the moments he shared with Pike in these small rooms hidden behind Pike's store. It was in the sitting room, with a fire crackling in the background, where Henry had presented Pike with the painting he inspired. He named it "Dancing in the Stars" to honor the story that had given Henry's heart the first stirrings of love for the dark-skinned, mysterious man. Now the room was a shambles of overturned furniture and broken wooden tables and chairs.

The kitchen was unrecognizable. Shards of glass and stoneware littered the floor and counter tops. The sink was full of dirt and shattered herb pots that were once lined up neatly on the window sill. The vintage refrigerator was toppled - its contents had started to smell. This was the place where Pike had first began his love affair - unbeknownst to Henry. This is the room where Pike fed Henry's wandering soul with the best, most lovingly prepared meals Henry had ever had in his life. This is the room where Pike had first held out his long, strong arms to catch Henry when he fell from the sky - to feed a hunger he never knew existed.

This was the place - Pike's private quarters - _**his home**_ - where Henry had started to slow down - where he first thought about staying in one place.

This is the place - _**Pike's place**_ - where Henry _**finally**_ allowed himself to be _**found**_.

_Pike._

Henry pulled himself from the sight of what was once Pike's kitchen and looked around until he caught sight of his broken lover. Pike was standing in the doorway that led to his former bedroom. He was clutching the doorframe so hard that his dark knuckles looked white. He saw the slight tremor in Pike's shoulders and it nearly broke his heart.

_Oh god._

Henry stepped behind Pike and realized exactly what had frozen the gentle giant to the spot. He wrapped his arms around Pike's waist and gently stroked his lover's stomach. Even though it had only been a few days, Henry missed the feel of Pike's plump belly beneath his fingers. He was now met with the elastic texture from the protective wrap holding Pike's ribs in place. Henry placed his face against Pike's back and tried his best to soothe. "We'll put it all back together. I promise."

"This..." Pike's voice broke when he spoke. "...I...this one...'

Henry squeezed himself between the doorframe and Pike's trembling torso. He pressed their bodies together and held Pike's tear streaked face between his hands. "It's okay, Pike. It's nothing that can't be fixed. The only thing that matters is that you're here and you're okay and I love you."

"You made that for me." Pike tried to explain why this particular room held so much more meaning.

"I know. I'll make another one for you." Henry tried to reassure.

Pike closed his eyes. "Not the same."

"Of course not, but everything that painting represents is right here." Henry placed Pike's palm against his chest. "And right here." Henry placed his own palm on Pike's chest.

"This is the room where we made love for the first time." Pike's tears were flowing freely - without shame.

"And it always will be." Henry smiled sadly. "Nothing will change that, Pike."

_**FLASHBACK**_

Henry stumbled into the kitchen. The only light illuminating the room was the flickering bulb above the sink. Pike was setting up the coffee pot so all Henry had to do was plug it in later. "Mornin..." Henry mumbled while scratching his belly through his thin t-shirt.

Pike spun around and looked surprised. "What are you doing up?" His smile was radiant.

"It seems the only way I'm going to see you this week is to get up at this ungodly hour of the morning." Henry complained. He was not a morning person.

At all.

Pike pulled Henry into his arms and held him close. "I'm sorry. I'm almost done with inventory."

"If you would let me help you maybe you'd be done by now." Henry tried not to whine, but it was too damned early and he was too damned needy from not seeing his lover all week. "I _**can**_ count, you know."

"Of course you can." Pike kissed Henry's pouty lips. "Come down to the store and have lunch with me."

"Are you sure you can spare the time?" Henry was starting to hate the way he sounded to his own ears.

Pike smiled between quick, little pecks of lips all over Henry's face. "I want a little time with the birthday boy before we have a houseful of people watching him blow out the candles on his cake tonight."

"There better be no candles or we may burn down the house." Henry couldn't stop himself from being a living, breathing Eyore. It was just so damn early and he was forty years old. _** Forty.**_ When did _**that**_ happen? "I'm old."

"Forty isn't old." Pike cooed.

Henry rolled his eyes. "We'll see how you feel about it in a few months when you catch up to me."

"I'm sorry I haven't been home much this week. Please have lunch with me today, Henry." Pike said in all seriousness. "And tonight after our guests leave, let me show you how sexy forty is."

"Sexy?" Henry couldn't help grinning. Sometimes Pike still surprised him. "Pike Dexter thinks I'm sexy, huh?"

Pike smirked in his own special way before he leaned down to kiss Henry's grumpy-morning-disposition. "Lunch?"

Henry nodded into Pike's kisses. "I'll be there."

After a couple more hours of sleep and a percolator full of fresh coffee, Henry was a lot happier. When he walked into the store and saw Pike looking all tall, dark, and handsome he didn't feel even the tiniest bit of the irritation he had prior to the sun rising.

Pike's smile was almost brighter than the sun the second his gaze landed on Henry.

The sight of it still caused Henry's chest to flutter every single time.

Henry stepped around the cluttered u-shaped counter and stepped up one step until he was face-to-face with Pike behind the cash register. "Hi."

"Hi." Pike kissed him soundly. "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you." Henry grinned. "Where's my birthday lunch?"

"Right this way." Pike said as he took Henry's hand. "Watch the store, Jim."

"Okey Dokey." Jim said with a bit of mirth in his tone.

Once Pike had Henry through the door and into the middle of the sitting room he stopped and pulled Henry until Henry's back was pressed into Pike's chest. "Wait." He huffed into Henry's neck.

One of Pike's arms was holding Henry firmly in place around his waist. The other was draped over a shoulder. Pike's big hand covered Henry's eyes. "I have a surprise for you."

"What?" Henry teased. "Did you put extra bacon on my BLT?"

"Just relax and let me show you." Pike began to walk Henry in the direction of the kitchen. At the last minute Pike spun Henry to the right - in the direction of Pike's old bedroom.

"No birthday sex with the guys out front." Henry warned.

Pike just chuckled against Henry's temple. "It's not like they don't know we're involved."

"Piii-iiike." Henry warned even more.

Pike laughed. It was a sound Henry would never get enough of. "No walk of shame today, Henry?"

"Pike, I'm serious..." Henry lost his ability to speak when Pike removed his hand and allowed Henry to open his eyes. He looked around the room in disbelief.

"Happy Birthday, Henry." Pike almost whispered into his ear.

It was beautiful. Every single detail was perfect. "Pike?"

"An artist of your caliber deserves his own studio." Pike explained.

Henry look around the room that used to contain an old, comfortable bed and a simple chest of drawers with matching armoire. It had been transformed. There was light - lots of light. Henry looked up and gasped. "Pike!"

"Dean helped me with those." Pike explained as his lover gaped at the two large sky lights. "Mary Margaret said you need a lot of natural light."

"Pike...I..." Henry didn't know what to say. Pike had thought of every detail. Easels and canvases and cabinets for paints of every variety and the finest selection of brushes. There were solvents and rags and aprons. Pike had even installed a sink in the corner and a wide counter for drying and mixing. "How..."

"I don't really need to do inventory in this place." Pike explained. "Especially for an entire week. You've seen the size of the store - right?" Pike's voice was playful.

Henry adored Playful-Pike.

His eyes continued to scan the beautiful studio Pike had created just for him, when he finally saw it - and he stepped into the room so he could touch it.

Pike followed, finding his place behind Henry again and holding him close with both arms wrapped around his waist. "I couldn't take that out of here. It belongs here."

"This is..."

"I hung it in here the same morning you gave it to me. It's been in here ever since. The first time we made love it was hanging above our heads." Pike continued.

Henry could barely speak through the wave of emotions. "I remember."

"Is it okay?" Pike suddenly sounded unsure of himself.

Henry spun around in his arms. "I couldn't think of a better place to keep it. It will inspire me the same way you do."

"Do you like the..."

Henry cut him off with a kiss. "Thank you."

Pike smiled and looked relieved. "Happy Birthday."

"I love it." Henry kissed Pike again - harder and longer and much more deeply. "I love _**you**_."

_**PRESENT**_

Henry was worried.

Pike hadn't taken his eyes from the tattered remains of the painting that had once hung on his bedroom wall. Even after he had converted it into a place to honor the work of his lover - it remained on that same wall. Since the moment Pike first laid eyes on it - when it was merely Henry's unfinished frustration in Sam's living room - Pike had _**loved**_ it.

And Pike's interpretation of what it represented made _**Henry**_ love it.

Pike was right - it belonged on the wall where they had first joined as lovers. It belonged in the place Pike had chosen for it from _**before**_ their beginning.

It was just wrong.

And Pike was taking it hard.

Henry reached across the truck seat to bury his finger in Pike's long hair. "You doing okay?"

Pike kept fidgeting with the torn canvas as if he were trying to put it back together again. He didn't respond to Henry's voice.

Henry lightly scratched Pike's scalp. "Pike, please say something."

Pike closed his eyes and leaned his head against the headrest.

"Are you tired?" Henry asked. He was desperate to hear Pike's voice.

All he heard was a heavy sigh.

Henry moved his hand from Pike's hair to his thigh and left it there for the rest of the drive home. Once he shut down the old engine he squeezed Pike's leg. "We're home, Pike."

No response.

Henry hopped out of the truck and walked around to Pike's side. After he opened the door, he reached in to take the tattered painting from Pike's grip before he grabbed Pike's good hand and gently pulled him from the truck. "I don't know about you, but I could use a nap!" Henry coddled.

A few hours had passed since Henry left his sleeping man in their bed. Henry wasn't really tired at all, but he spooned himself behind Pike until he heard the familiar sound of Pike's gentle snoring. He was so intense in his concentration on the project in front of him, that he didn't hear the sound of Pike's slippers shuffling into the sunny living room. It wasn't until Pike sat on the arm of the big chair next to Henry's easel that Henry realized he was no longer alone.

Pike leaned against Henry's shoulder and looked at the canvas. Henry saw something that looked a lot like relief in his eyes.

"Not bad, huh?"

Pike nodded. "I can't believe you...made it look so..."

"It's not perfect." Henry referred to the repaired painting of dancing star-children. He placed an arm around Pike's shoulders. "But I kinda like the scars - reminds me that we made it through this together."

Pike's arms wrapped around Henry's waist and he pulled him to stand between his knees. "I like it. It'll look good back where it belongs."

"It will." Henry agreed. "We'll keep it right here for a couple of weeks. Just until all the repairs are done - to both this painting and to the store."

"Two weeks?" Pike clarified. He needed precision right now.

Henry knew where this was going. "Yeah. Give or take. I promise, Pike, everyone is working hard to get it done. By the time you're ready to get back to your daily routine - it should be all ready for you."

"I can help." Pike said without any hint that it was up for discussion.

Henry skimmed his fingers against Pike's rib wrap. "Maybe in a few days."

"I just want everything to be normal again." Pike's eyes were glassy.

"I know." Seeing it caused another crack to form in Henry's heart. "Me too."

"I'm not broken." Pike unnecessarily insisted.

Henry nodded and continued to soothe with his touch. "I know."

"I can take care of myself." Pike tightened his arm-hold.

"I know." Henry cupped Pike's face in one hand. "You've been taking care of both of us for a while now. So do me a favor and let me take care of you for a few more days." Henry smiled before he kissed the pout from Pike's mouth. "Okay?"

Pike answered silently by burrowing his face into Henry's neck after he pulled them impossibly close together.

_**FLASHBACK**_

He was almost getting used to waking up to the sensation of hot, moist, bad-breath being huffed into his face.

Almost.

He opened his eyes and found himself looking into the expressive brown eyes of a warm, panting...dog.

"Good morning, Frances." Henry scratched her behind her ears before he pushed her off of Pike's pillow. "Sorry, girl, but that spot is reserved for your handsome human"

Henry's day started in the same way it usually did after Frances woke him. He barely made it to the toilet to relieve his full bladder. He scratched himself and all of his manly bits as he stumbled to the kitchen to start the prepped coffee and pop the covered breakfast casserole into the oven. By the time the coffee was brewed and his breakfast was warmed, Henry had showered, shaved, and dressed for the day.

He usually thought about Pike while he ate. After a walk with Frances around the lake, Henry drove to Pike's store - _**and **_his beautiful, bright, studio - to put in a good day of painting -_** after**_ he got his fill of staring at Pike from the Cappuccino station.

He had a very good life. And Pike was the reason.

Henry knew it.

Often times, while he was either staring at the man or simply enjoying his lingering scent as he pondered over his latest artistic endeavor, Henry wondered what Pike got out of this. Sure, they had lots of sex. At least right now they did and that is certainly incentive to stick around with someone - but how long would they be this...smitten? They were both forty and their current appetite for sex - fueled by newness and discovery - wouldn't last forever.

And certainly sex with Henry Hart wasn't all that satisfying. And even if Henry could put out like a nineteen year old, it wasn't like Pike wasn't matching him orgasm for orgasm.

Pike was a gay _**fantasy **_in bed. No one would ever suspect that lurking beneath his quiet exterior was a sex god. Henry got to have that little surprise all for himself.

_Yummy._

And to top it all off - Pike's body was made just for satisfying Henry. He was strong - solid - big - but had a soft, round belly just big enough to give Henry the exact right friction on his less than impressive erection while Pike was pounding into him as hard and fast, or soft and slow, as Henry demanded. Their height difference made for the perfect alignment of mouths so they could kiss freely whenever the need arose as they made love in the gay-version of the missionary position.

But as shocking as it would be for everyone who knew them - they were _**not**_ vanilla. Not in the _**least**_. Pike was adventurous and brought out the kink inside of Henry. Pike had a way of making Henry feel desirable and sexy - hot - and this gave Henry the freedom to expose himself in ways he never thought he possible.

But surely the newness would fade and their age would start showing in the bedroom - and _**then**_ what would Henry have to offer? He couldn't even manage to wake up early enough to make his man a cup of coffee. How long would Pike be willing to tolerate the differences between them. Pike is morning and Henry is night. Pike is hard work and Henry is the indulgent stillness of the arts. Pike is humble while Henry is insecure. Pike is gorgeous. Henry is...not.

Henry felt himself starting to panic a little. The thought of even one day without Pike was a little bit terrifying. He wasn't really sure when that happened. He had gone his whole life without love and now he couldn't imagine surviving without it. Specifically without love from Pike - for Pike - _**with**_ Pike.

As if on cue - like he could read Henry's mind - Pike showed up and made his presence known by wrapping Henry up in long arms and heat. He kissed Henry's bald spot - a gesture that Henry was shocked to find endearing when Pike did it - and looked over Henry's shoulder at the canvas in front of them.

"I really like how this one is coming together." Pike said before he trailed open mouthed kisses along Henry's neck.

It was an unusual piece for Henry's style. His usual palate of dark shades of grey and blue splashed with flickers of light was replaced with deep reds and warm golds. It almost pulsed - a trick of the light that was intentional and quite stunning. "It's you. I'm calling it '_My Heart of Hearts,_' because that's what you are to me. Until you found me I didn't know...you showed me."

"Showed you?" Pike asked, obviously a little confused.

Henry leaned back and closed his eyes as he took in the sensation of being held by a man he loved _**so much**_. "You showed me what love is."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~3800

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

_**PRESENT**_

The ride home had been quiet, as usual. Pike never had much to say after spending a few hours working on the repairs. He still tired easily and that was just one more insult that he found impossible to accept. Pike had become more and more broody as each day passed. He hadn't smiled in weeks. He wasn't eating much and he slept more than anything else.

Henry was starting to worry.

"How does your arm feel?" Henry tried to break the silent tension as he drove.

Pike held his paler, thinner wrist up and seemed to ponder the question. He shrugged and returned his gaze to the passing scenery outside of his window.

Henry nervously gripped the steering wheel. "I bet it feels great to finally have that cast off."

Pike sighed.

"It looks like the store's almost back to working order." Henry tried a different approach. "The cappuccino tasted good this morning. I'd say that's a good sign."

Pike just stared out the window.

"Pike." Henry was getting desperate to hear Pike's voice. "By next week you'll be back to your old routine. I promise."

By the time he had made his failed attempt to pull his lover out of his funk, they had arrived home and parked in front of their little piece of paradise. Henry turned to face his sullen boyfriend. "Pike..."

"I'm tired." Pike finally spoke before he opened his door and walked away.

Henry took two deep breaths with his eyes closed before he exited the truck himself to follow Pike inside. He caught up with him in the kitchen and stopped him by grabbing onto a couple of belt loops. "Please talk to me."

Pike stopped. He slumped a little before he turned around to look at Henry. "I just want everything to be back to normal."

"I know. A few more days of work and it'll be good as new." Henry tried to soothe.

"That's not what I mean." Pike was almost whining. "Well…it's not everything. It's part of it…I mean…" Pike was obviously frustrated with his inability to say what was on his mind. "Just….never mind."

Henry watched as Pike turned to head toward their bedroom. "Pike." He just wanted the man to talk to him. Why couldn't Pike just talk? He followed behind, determined to get more information from his sullen lover. "Tell me what I can do. How can I help you feel better?"

Pike spun around so quickly Henry almost lost his balance. He felt himself being pulled flush with the warm body he craved and he immediately felt the familiar tingle growing in his belly. "Pike..."

"I want everything to be back to the way it was. _** Everything.**_" Pike's eyes were set in a determined glare. "That's how you can help me."

Henry was a little confused and overwhelmed by the sudden closeness. "What?"

Pike answered with a hard press of lips.

"Oh." Henry whispered with closed eyes after what felt like hours of kissing. "You want…"

"You." Pike said in a beseeching way. "I want _**you,**_ Henry. Just like before. I want us to be back to the way we were before any of this happened."

Henry took a deep breath before he opened his eyes. "We will. I promise. As soon as you're better…"

"I _**am**_ better, Henry!"

Pike's tone was surprising. He never yelled. "Pike…"

"No. " Pike pushed Henry away. "No."

Henry wasn't sure what caused it, but seeing Pike push past him caused a bit of fear to creep up his spine. He reached for Pike's hand to stop him from walking away. When Pike hissed from the pain of having his recently un-casted wrist yanked, Henry immediately remembered why they hadn't been engaging in sex. He felt sudden guilt for hurting his lover. "God, I'm sorry."

Pike pulled away. "I'm fine, Henry. It's just a little sore – but fine. Not broken, not damaged…FINE!"

"I know." Henry struggled to find a middle ground. "I know it is. I know you are, too. I just want to make sure you don't – we don't – do anything to get in the way of your healing."

"I need to feel normal again, Henry." Pike tried his best to make Henry understand. He pulled Henry close again and nuzzled into the space between chin and shoulder to nip at Henry's neck. "And I miss you."

And god did it feel good.

So.

Good.

Henry wanted to feel Pike's mouth touching, nibbling, licking... tasting...every inch of his body.

Right after Henry got his fill of Pike flavor on his own tongue.

"Okay..." Henry pushed Pike toward their bedroom while he unbuttoned Pike's old sweater. "...but I'm doing all the work. Got it?"

The twinkle in Pike's eyes almost took Henry's breath away. He hadn't seen it in so long. It was perplexing to him that having sex with someone like Henry Hart would make a person so happy.

By the time Henry had backed Pike up all the way to the edge of their comfortable old bed, he had successfully removed most of his lover's clothing. "Make yourself comfortable and I'll be right with you."

Pike grinned - almost beamed - before he lowered himself to the bed and scooted back until he was leaning against the headboard. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back." Henry said from behind the bathroom door as he quickly undressed. He was relieved to find an old bottle of lube still stashed away in the drawer containing dental floss and various half-used tubes of toothpaste. He could hear the impatient shifting of his lover in their bed as he quickly prepared himself. He intended to ride Pike into a frenzy before leaving him to sleep it off while he prepared their dinner.

That was the plan, anyway.

Once he walked back into the bedroom, lube bottle hidden behind his back - he completely lost track of the plan the minute he saw Pike's naked, flushed, aroused body waiting for him.

He felt himself getting harder. Henry loved that just_** looking**_ at Pike still had that effect on him. "I see you've been busy."

Pike chuckled quietly. "So have you."

Henry hurried across the room and crawled into the bed until he was straddling Pike's thighs. "Let me do all the work." He almost warned.

"How's that supposed to work, exactly." Pike's hands were already roaming over every inch of Henry's skin within reach. "Come here." Pike demanded before he pulled Henry by his hips until he was fully on his knees. "Want you." He grabbed Henry's ass cheeks and held him firmly in place.

It wasn't until Henry felt wet, hot suction that he realized what Pike was up to. "Oh..." And as usual, Pike's mouth on his erection rendered him speechless. He leaned forward enough to hold himself up with extended arms pushing against the wall above Pike's head. "Pike.."

The only response was more suction and a very satisfied groan.

Both of which brought Henry to an all-too-soon-orgasm, which was greedily swallowed by his obviously come-hungry lover. "Well, that's a little embarrassing." He leaned against the wall to catch his breath.

"Don't be embarrased." Pike's hands were gliding up and down the back of Henry's thighs and ass. "I'm flattered."

"Flattered?" Henry finally fell back into his straddling position. "How is my premature ejaculation flattering?"

"Wasn't premature." Pike insisted. "Come here." He said in that quietly demanding tone that Henry loved, while pulling Henry by the neck into a deep kiss that tasted like Pike and his own orgasm.

Henry had almost forgotten how much he loved that particular flavor combination.

"In my own defense..." Henry mumbled into the kiss. "...I was a little pent up. It's been too long."

"That's what I've been telling you!" Pike again grabbed Henry by both cheeks and pulled him closer to get more friction on his own aching need.

"You've been..."

"Shhh." Pike interrupted. "Doesn't matter now. I'm fine."

Henry pushed himself away with both palms on Pike's chest. "Okay. I'm going to take care of you now. Let me do all the work. I don't want you to over do it."

"Henry..."

"Pike." It was Henry's turn to be demanding. "Promise."

Pike looked at Henry for a minute with a scowl before he pulled him back in for a forceful kiss. "So how are we gonna do this?"

Henry smiled into Pike's lips before he once again pushed himself away. "Like this." He growled before taking Pike's hot, hard, pulsing - _yes, definitely pulsing_ - manhood into his hand. He watched as Pike's eyes closed while he stroked him slowly - very, very slowly. He fumbled around blindly until he found the bottle of lube with his other hand. After flipping open the lid with his thumb, he poured some of the cool liquid onto his other hand without looking - the one still stroking Pike into eye-rolling bliss.

It was all so sloppy - _**erotic**_ and sloppy. "You wanna help me out with this?" Henry squeezed before releasing Pike from his tight grip so he could hold onto strong shoulders as he positioned himself.

Pike didn't need further instruction. He took control of his hard, leaking need just long enough to line it up with Henry's prepared hole before guiding it into the tight heat of his lover.

Once Henry had himself full of Pike and seated firmly in place they both needed a few minutes to catch their breath.

"GodImissedthis..." Henry murmured in a tight, gaspy breath.

"Henry..." Pike groaned as he tossed his head back until it thunked loudly against the solid wooden headboard.

Henry immediately went into mothering-mode. "Oh my god - are you okay."

"Ffffffffffuck..." Pike hissed.

_Oh._

Henry knew that his lover's foul mouth wasn't a result of a little banging of his head. Pike _**never**_ cursed - especially a word with such vulgar intensity - _**fuck**_ was just not a Pike thing to say. Except of course on occasions like the one they currently found themselves, when Pike was completely lost in a haze of testosterone fueled lust. Sometimes Pike was so full of desire and need that he lost himself to the feeling - including his usual contained and measured use of colorful language.

Henry loved it when Pike let go. "So it's gonna be like that, huh?" He said after leaning into Pike's body enough to gush words against his sweaty neck.

Pike groaned - the noise he made sounded like a long, drawn-out "F" and it was a noise that brought Henry's spent dick right back into full rigor. When Pike had finally found his ability to speak again, the words that came out of his mouth were stimulating beyond belief.

"You're so...tight. Hot and tight." Pike's fingers gripped Henry's hips to the point of pain. "Want...gonna..."

Henry was losing a little of his usual restraint too. "What, Pike? You want what? What to you wanna do to me?" He slowly pulled himself off, dragging his tight heat across his lover's sensitive shaft in an achingly slow move. "You want it slow and soft?" Once Henry had nearly separated himself from Pike's length, he suddenly slammed himself back down, eliciting a shocked gasp from his boyfriend. "Or you want it hard and fast?"

When Pike pulled their bodies flush and flipped them until Henry was beneath him, Henry only thought about Pike's recent injuries for a split second before he gave into the sensation of his lover thrusting himself with powerful, deep, hard and fast penetration. He felt his legs being hiked higher to change the angle and deepen the thrusting which was also speeding up into a pace that left Henry gasping for air. "Harder." He heard himself gushing between the pounding rhythm Pike was setting. "Faster...Pike...please..."

Henry was too far gone to wonder when it was, exactly, that Pike took control of the game. Not that he would have been complaining had his brain been capable of coherent thought. Because Pike was working his body perfectly.

As usual.

And damn if his body wasn't under Pike's spell. He could feel his hardness pressed between their bellies. He wasn't sure how it was possible for a man his age to recover so quickly from having his brain sucked out through his dick, but Pike managed to stimulate him in all the right places.

Pike always made him feel this way. Young. Hot.

Beautiful.

He was so lost in the moment that he didn't realize they were kissing until Pike pulled away to bury his face into Henry's neck as he made a sexy, strangled sound that was always accompanied by the pulsing, wet heat of Pike coming.

It was the best sound in the world as far as Henry was concerned.

Pike's body tensed and stilled for what seemed like forever before he collapsed on top of the smaller man beneath him. His fingers found their way to Henry's hair and he gently and carefully slid his fingers into the thinning mane. Henry loved how much Pike paid attention to every little detail - even when passion blurred his usual coherency.

_I love this man. So. Much._

"That normal enough for ya." Henry felt boneless beneath his spent lover and his voice was deep and rough from the loud, pounding sex. When he heard the deep rumble of Pike's chuckle followed by the feel of his lover's smile ghosting across the pebbled flesh of his neck, Henry felt sultry heat pooling low in his belly all over again. _God._

"Almost."

But it wasn't until he felt the heat of Pike's breath in his ear as he whispered his one word answer in the sexiest voice Henry had ever heard in his life that he felt himself become so hard - so fast - _**again**_ - that he groaned out loud.

Which caused his sweaty, come covered lover to chuckle all over again.

That second sexy, deep, rumble of a chuckle only made Henry's need so much more palpable. "We can do better than almost, don't ya think?"

And just like that they were tangled up all over again.

Henry woke first. He indulged in quietly watching as Pike slept, taking in every detail of the mess they decided to leave for later as Pike's chest rose and fell in a slow, steady song of life. There were very faint remnants of the beating that nearly ended Henry's everything and he felt himself swallowing a sob right before it escaped into the still morning air - air that smelled of their sweat and sex.

Henry took note that smell was a powerful sense. He smiled a crooked smile as he suddenly felt a new appreciation for his big nose.

He carefully untangled himself from a web of long arms and legs mixed all together with sheets and blankets. Once he was assured that Pike was not disturbed, he grabbed a robe off the the hook on the back of the bedroom door and padded his way into the kitchen to fix his gorgeous lover some breakfast.

Just as he started moving some beaten eggs around in a skillet loaded with melted butter, he felt familiar arms snake around his middle from behind. He leaned into the warm body he loved so much and sighed happily.

"You better let me take over if you actually want to eat that." Pike grinned into the top of Henry's head.

Henry spun around and skimmed his eyes down and then back up. "You're naked."

"You're wearing my robe." Pike smirked playfully.

Henry decided Pike was right. It _**was**_ time for them to get back to normal - as hard and as scary as that was for Henry to do. He handed Pike the wooden spoon before leaning up for a small kiss. "I wouldn't fry up any bacon if I were you." Henry teased before walking away from his naked boyfriend after dramatically tightening the tie of his borrowed robe.

_**FLASHBACK**_

Pike walked into a kitchen full of smoke and a frazzled, frustrated boyfriend.

"Damn it!" Henry swore as he dropped the smoking skillet into the sink.

Pike managed to stifle a burst of laughter before speaking. "Didn't you learn the first time?"

Henry startled and spun around at the sound of Pike's voice. "What?" He snipped. The tuft of hair that normally rested flat against Henry's skull in a passionately-denied comb-over was now sticking straight up - an obvious victim to Henry's frustrated fingers. Pike thought his lover looked adorable.

But he wisely kept that to himself. He pointed to the sink behind Henry and clarified his previous statement. "Cooking."

Henry's shoulders sank. "I wanted to...you know...take care of you for a change."

Henry looked so sad when he said it. Pike crossed the kitchen in two Pike-sized steps and wrapped his arms around the pitiful man he had fallen in love with before either of them even graduated high school. "You do." He reassured before kissing Henry deeply. "You take care of me every day."

"How do you figure?" Henry said in his gloomy way that was a cross between a childish pout and Eyore, the self-deprecating donkey from Winnie-the-Pooh.

"You're so cute." He couldn't contain it this time and was rewarded with a crimson blush from his adorable lover.

"I'm serious, Pike." Henry said in a defeated tone. "I guess...today is special and I wanted to do something special for you. You've been feeding my soul for a while now, Pike. I guess I wanted to feed yours for a change...make sure you're not going to float away in the stars. Especially after you went through all the trouble to crash me down to Earth with all of your divine cooking."

"You keep me earthbound with other divine talents." Pike pulled Henry into a solid kiss. "I'm not going anywhere, Henry. If I go off to dance in the stars I'll make sure you're with me."

Henry just looked into Pike's eyes as if he were searching for the truth. It was a little heartbreaking and Pike wanted to take the doubt from those eyes. "I know where we can get a good meal."

And it _**was**_ a good meal. Bar-b-qued ribs, grilled chicken, and smoked brisket with every variety of side dish ever known to a summer picnic. Then there were the pies and cakes and fruit salad floating inside of green jello-ish stuff that Henry didn't want to think about.

But it was perfect and he felt better. Once again his tall, dark, and exotically handsome lover had taken care of his soul. Henry straddled a picnic bench, leaning his weight into the solid body behind him. Pike's arms were loosely wrapped around him. Ben was sitting between Henry's legs, his small hand gripped Henry's shirt sleeve unconsciously. Andrew was sitting on the table top. His chin rested on Pike's shoulder as they all watched the modest display of fireworks. Henry could resist glancing at Dean and Anna. They looked so happy dancing together to music only they could hear.

Once the fireworks had popped their last pop, Dean left Anna to her fiddle and joined his clan of men, who were still huddled together on the small picnic table near the makeshift dance floor. "You gonna take this guy for a spin, Henry?"

"I don't know..." Henry turned his head to look up at Pike. "...you feel like spinning?"

As of on cue, the lively Bluegrass mellowed into a sweet, slow ballad. Pike nudged Henry and nodded.

"Excuse us boys." Henry stood and held his hand out with a slight bow. "May I have this dance, Handsome?"

They looked like quite a pair spinning around among the strings of lights and floating between an odd assortment of couples. And they couldn't take their eyes off of each other.

It wasn't like they planned it - the way their clothes matched perfectly - but they looked like they did. Pike picked his red shirt with the pearly snaps because it was Henry's favorite.

Henry said it reminded him of the night he finally saw Pike - really _**saw**_ him - for the first time. It was the night he started his decent from the sky - aiming for Pike.

And Pike waited to catch him.

Henry picked an old black and red flannel - it had once belonged to Sampa and he thought it only fitting that Sam be part of the celebration.

Pike watched as Henry's expression slowly morphed into something that looked almost doubtful. It was as if Henry were puzzling over his own worth - as of he didn't deserve to be spinning around a constellation of twinkling strands of lights with his lover.

That just wouldn't do.

Pike stopped. As they stood together - still and speechless - a town-full of coupled friends orbiting around them - Pike made his statement.

In a kiss that lasted several minutes and no less than two adjustments of angles and mouths - Pike made it perfectly clear that Henry was not only worthy - but absolutely necessary. Without Henry, Pike was nothing but a daily routine without meaning.

Henry was the palate of flavor and color that sprinkled from the heavens.

They only pulled apart because the music had once again picked up to a more lively rhythm and they were getting in the way of the festive dancing. Henry looked into Pike's dark eyes and smiled. "Happy Anniversary, Pike Dexter."

"Happy Anniversary." Pike pulled Henry toward the side of the park where they left the truck earlier. "Let's go home and dance some more."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~ 3500

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

_**Present**_

"Let me give you a hand with that." Henry reached for the heavy crate containing Pike's milk delivery.

Pike yanked it out of reach. "I got it."

"I'm right here - no biggie - just let me help..."

"I said I got it, Henry." Pike snapped. "Please go somewhere else - anywhere else - just not here."

Henry looked stung.

Pike immediately felt guilty. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Henry said it without thinking. It was obvious that it was far from okay.

"No. It's not okay. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It's just..." Pike sighed and put the crate on the ground in front of him. "...I know you mean well. And I know you're trying to help. But you've been hovering around me for two weeks. Every time I go to do something you're there to...smother." Pike was shocked by his own words, but then realized it needed to be said - no matter how much it killed him to see that look on Henry's face. "You're...smothering."

Dexter's General Store had been reopened for two weeks. Pike jumped right back into his routine. He was up before dawn and he didn't get home until later in the evening. Henry tried to convince Pike to ease his way back, but Pike insisted he needed to just get on with it. He was done being weak and wounded.

And It felt good. Pike liked working hard and he loved his store.

For Henry it was terrifying. He didn't want to let Pike out of sight. What he _**said **_was that he just wanted to make sure Pike didn't over-do it. But in the deepest part of his heart, buried beneath so many layers of denial and fear, was the truth - keeping an eye on Pike reassured him that the man was safe and sound and free from danger.

It was all so irrational, which Henry would willingly admit if he actually understood it himself.

Instead, "Maybe if you would have listened to me in the first place I wouldn't _**have**_ to hover. You come home every night and fall into bed exhausted. You're stiff and sore when you wake up in the morning. You're going to hurt yourself if you don't..."

"Henry." Pike's tone was measured and close to a warning. "We aren't talking about this again. I'm fine."

"No, you're not..."

"Stop it, Henry." Pike was not having the same conversation with his lover for the millionth time. "Please."

"You're working yourself into the ground and I never see you..."

Pike interrupted before Henry could take it into another direction. "I thought we worked that all out a long time ago."

"We did." Henry knew he was being crazy about it. He just couldn't seem to stop himself. "But it's different now."

"No, Henry. I love you so much for caring about me the way that you do...but we can't keep doing this. _** I **_can't keep doing this. Please understand."

"I know." Henry tried to calm down. "I do...understand."

"It's time to get back to our normal routine." Pike reasoned.

Henry reached for Pike. He just needed to touch. "But you're always tired and when you wake up..." He hated sounding so whiney.

"It's been two weeks, Henry. It'll get better - it already has. Please be patient and let me do it my way." Pike pulled him closer and felt like they had gotten over the worst of it. Henry looked less anxious.

"I'm patient." Henry pouted.

Pike smiled. "Of course you are."

_**FLASH BACK**_

Pike walked into the bathroom he shared with his lover and found himself trying to stifle a laugh. Henry was standing in front of the sink, leaning himself as close to the mirror as possible to inspect his face. After a few minutes Henry noticed that he had an audience and he spoke to Pike while looking at him without turning around through the reflection in the mirror. "I look old."

"Old?" Pike asked after scrunching up his forehead.

"Yeah. _** Old**_." Henry reiterated. "Look at me. I have hair growing everywhere except my head, I have bags the size of grapefruits under my eyes, I'm pretty sure I have three chins and my neck looks...weird."

"You're not old, Henry." Pike assured him.

"How do you look like that and I look like this, when we're the same age?" Henry continued as if Pike hadn't said anything.

"How do I look?" Pike tried not to grin.

Henry waived his hands in front of Pike's reflection in the mirror. "Like that. Great hair, great complexion, great body...you smell good, too."

"Smell?"

"Yeah. Smell. You _**smell **_good. I think I'm starting to get that old-man-smell." Henry sighed while he sniffed his arm. "I'm old."

"How many times do I have to tell you that you're gorgeous before you believe me?" Pike finally succumb to his boyfriend's adorableness and scooted up behind him to wrap his arms around Henry's shoulders. "You're the brightest star in my sky." He kissed the side of Henry's head before burying his face into his neck and taking a deep, exaggerated breath. "Mmmmmmmmmm."

"I thought you left already." Henry stubbornly stuck to his foul mood.

"Jim opened up this morning so I could get a few invoices paid. Our computer is faster than the one at the store." Pike explained. " And you smell good."

"You could do better." Henry was almost pouting.

Pike turned Henry around so they were face-to-face. He brushed his fingers through Henry's messy bed-head-hair, being careful not to pull and upset his suddenly sensitive lover. "Where is this coming from?"

"I love you," was Henry's answer.

It was a bit confusing. "I love you too."

"Do you?"

"Henry..."

"I never see you. I mean I see you all the time, but I never see you. You're always working and the time we _**do**_ get to be alone...you would rather have _**me time**_." Henry said the last two words with bitter sarcasm while using his fingers to make air-quotes.

Pike backed up enough to look Henry in the eyes. "Wait. We agreed to _**me time**_. You said you needed it too. It's one night a week."

"You would rather hang around the back of your star gazing than come home to me. We have stars here too, you know." Henry continued with his convoluted explanation.

"I know. It's not about the stars, Henry. It's about me needing time for myself. I've been alone my whole life - I need time to just be with myself...to...think. It's not about you. I love you. I love spending time with you." Pike explained what he thought they had worked out weeks ago.

It snuck up on them. Between Pike's long days and Henry's new studio, they spent a lot of time together. Almost _**all**_ their time was spent together. Henry had a couple of hours each morning to himself, and he always got home before Pike in the evenings, so he didn't feel the need for alone time - he just felt the need for alone time with Pike. They didn't really get much of that.

Pike on the other hand never had a moment to himself. The guys were in from the moment he opened the store in the morning. Henry was there by mid-morning and in the rare moments Pike had the store to himself, he had to be on alert in case a customer showed up. Pike felt anxious and grumpy and couldn't really figure out why.

Until it all came to a head one morning when Henry decided to get up early to talk. Henry was _**not**_ a morning person and Pike was teetering on the edge from feeling crowded in. The combination led to the biggest argument they had had up to that point. One minute Henry was making the coffee - all wrong according to Pike - and the next minute the door was slamming as Pike stormed out of the house.

There was some yelling in between but neither of them actually heard each other.

By the time Henry slunk into the store later, they both felt remorseful and they both had managed to figure out what was going on underneath the surface. They made a deal right then and there. Pike had a night alone once a week and Jim watched the store for half a day on Sunday so they could have some quality time alone _**together**_.

It was a great plan until Sunday afternoons shrunk into a couple of hours here and there because there was always something that came up. Apparently neither of them were very good at saying no to invitations and requests for help with various projects.

Which led them to the current situation with an insecure Henry and a baffled Pike standing in a small bathroom while their second biggest argument brewed close to the surface.

"I'm going. We can talk about this later after you calm down." Pike pushed away and left the bathroom.

Henry chased after him. "Calm down? I _**am**_ calm. You see what I mean, Pike? You don't even care that we never have a moment to ourselves. It's just a matter of time and you'll figure it out."

Pike couldn't leave that one hanging out there. He turned and placed his hands on his hips. "Figure _**what **_out, Henry? You're not making sense."

"You're impossible." Henry barked after spending a minute trying to sift through his emotions to figure our what exactly the _**what **_was.

"Bye Henry." Pike threw his hands in the air before turning around again and pushing the screen door hard enough to make it bounce back on its spring to smack him in the shoulder before he cleared the doorway.

Every time he heard the bell ring from the front door of the store that day, Pike would hope for Henry to walk through it. But it was _**never **_Henry.

Henry hadn't shown up all day.

Pike could feel an ache in his chest that got worse as each minute passed without seeing his other-half. And that's exactly what Henry had become. He completed Pike in a way that he never expected and not seeing him all day after such a bizarre and ugly fight had Pike's anxiety shooting through the roof.

He hated that he had made Henry feel...whatever it was the Henry was feeling. He was still trying to figure that out. But for Pike it didn't really matter because he never wanted to be the reason for Henry to have that _**look**_ on his face. He looked so...what? What was it that he saw in Henry's eyes? The closest he could come to describing it was that Henry looked hurt and afraid.

By the end of the day Pike was literally crawling out of his skin from the anxiety. He just wanted to lock the doors and get home so he could work it out with Henry and put his two halves back together again. Just as he was turning the sign on the front window to indicate the store was closed, Henry's face appeared on the other side.

To say relief swept through Pike like a Tsunami would be a metaphorical understatement. Pike was beyond relieved. He almost cried.

He quickly unlocked the door so he could grab onto his man and pull him inside. Pike pulled Henry into his arms and held on as if his life depended on it. "I'm sorry."

"No." Henry's arms were tight around Pike's waist. His face was buried into Pike's neck and he was trying hard not to cry. "You didn't do anything to be sorry about."

"Henry..."

"_**I'm**_ sorry." Henry interrupted before pulling away for only long enough to lean up for a kiss. It was the sweetest kiss they had ever shared. "Can we sit for a minute?"

Pike nodded toward the odd array of chairs and sofas in the middle of the store. Once he locked the door, he followed Henry and sat next to him on the same couch where a year earlier, Henry had settled into one place to let Pike find him. Pike turned enough to reach across the small space between them and wrap his long fingers around Henry's neck. He squeezed reassuringly before brushing Henry's stubbled jaw with his thumb. "Henry?"

"When I was nine my parents were coming home from a housewarming party and they were hit head on my some guy who had just left a bar a mile up the road." Henry started explaining. "They died instantly, but the ambulance still took them to the hospital. I knew what being dead meant. I just never really considered that my parents would ever _**be**_ dead. I never really considered what dead really meant until I started to miss them. I never saw them again and I missed them and..." Henry took a deep, shaky breath.

Pike scooted closer and continued with his gentle soothing touch of thumb to face. "Sounds scary."

"There was some of that, but mostly there was this...emptiness. It hurt so much. I loved my grandparents and they were so good to me, but I missed the way my mom smelled. I missed the way my dad carried me on his back and threw me into bed so hard I bounced. We would laugh the whole way and I never wanted him to leave and turn off my light because it felt so good to laugh with him." A single tear rolled down Henry's cheek. "I missed them so much."

Pike shifted enough to place his other hand on Henry's thigh. Henry responded by grabbing his hand and pulling it to his chest. He held Pike's hand with both of his own. "I never let myself get that close to anyone again. I loved my grandparents, but I never let myself feel like I _**needed **_them. I moved as soon as I could - as far away as I could - just to prove to myself that I didn't need anyone. I saved myself for Dean even though I knew I could never have him. So I never got close to anyone - romantically speaking - because I was in love with Dean. But I wasn't - not really - I just didn't want to need anyone and Dean was a good excuse not to get close enough to anyone to let that happen."

"You didn't want to _**lose**_ anyone." Pike filled in what was left unspoken.

Henry nodded sadly before speaking again. "And then there's you."

"You're not losing me." Pike scooted even closer and pulled Henry close with the hand that still rested on his neck. Once he had Henry leaning against his shoulder he reiterated. "You're _**not**_ losing me."

Henry still clung to Pike's hand. "You've been so distracted and busy. I guess I just started to panic. Then today after you left I just wandered around the house thinking about it. I realized that the way it feels to think about losing you is a lot like the way it felt when I missed _**them**_. This morning was more about that than about you." Henry still looked like he was trying to work it all out himself. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Pike nodded. "For me it was trust."

"What was?" Henry wasn't expecting any revelations from Pike.

"The thing that kept me from connecting with anyone. Jim always says I'm shy - and I am - but more than that I just don't believe in love." Pike chuckled softly. "Well...I _**didn't**_ until you showed up again."

"Your parents. I can understand how hard it would be to trust anyone after that" Henry understood perfectly.

"When you walked in the store that morning with Grace, I felt it. Just like high school all over again. I could barely speak, I was so nervous around you." Pike admitted. He flattened his palm against Henry's chest and brushed his fingers down one side of Henry's face. "I wanted to love you. I wanted you take care of you. I wanted you to be happy."

"So you cooked for me."

"And kept my distance. I didn't trust love. I didn't believe in it. To me, love was just an excuse to get hurt." Pike couldn't believe he was confessing so much. "Then you did something I never expected and you loved me back. I hid from you that night, you know - the night you left Sam's carving on my deck - I was standing behind the door hiding. I never expected you to feel anything for me and suddenly I didn't want it."

"You never told me that."

"Jim had it all figured out before I did. He's always been the one to get me to head toward the right path." Pike could feel warmth radiating from his chest. "And you're definitely the right path for me, Henry Hart."

He finally saw a smile break through the pained expression on Henry's face. "Aren't we a pair?"

"We are."

"You know I'm okay with your _**me time**_, right? This morning wasn't really about that." Henry asked a little insecurely. "And I love you, Pike. I never want to hurt you. You can believe in that."

Pike answered with a slow, sensual kiss before whispering into Henry's lips. "Let's go home for some of that quality time together."

_**PRESENT**_

For the first time since the store re-opened, Pike had the morning to himself. After the alarm clocked buzzed beside their bed, Pike watched his lover roll over and mumble something before he settled back into sleep. Pike placed a soft kiss to Henry's forehead before he got out of bed, grabbed his robe off the hook on the back of the bedroom door, and sleepily stumbled his way into the kitchen to get coffee started.

Having his morning to himself felt good. It was finally back to the way it used to be before a bunch of scared kids changed his life. He took a little extra time in the shower - just because he could - and got dressed quietly while Henry _**pretended**_ to sleep. Pike could see his boyfriend watching him between barely opened eyes. Pike couldn't stop the giant grin from forming on his face and kept his back turned to the bed until he could get it under control.

Pike finished his breakfast, put Henry's in the oven to stay warm, and prepared a new batch of coffee so Henry would only need to plug in the percolator when he woke up later. Everything about his morning felt perfect. He looked around the kitchen and smiled to himself. This was exactly the way he loved to start the day. He missed taking care of his drowsy lover each day and loved knowing that Henry would start _**his**_ day with a lovingly prepared meal.

Pike snuck into the bedroom and sat on the side of the bed he shared with his dreamboat. He thought Henry looked amazing in the dim light filtering through the door from the hallway. His hair was sticking up in all directions, showing way more scalp than Henry was comfortable with. His face was relaxed and shadowed with dark stubble. Every feature on Henry's face - from the lines around his eyes, to his prominent ears, to his regal nose - was perfect and beautiful and Pike had never found the right words to express that. He brushed Henry's mussed hair with his fingers before leaning down to give him a kiss on his forehead. "Thank you for pretending to sleep. I know this is hard for you, but I promise I'll be fine."

"Not pretending." Henry grinned with his eyes closed.

"Of course not." Pike smirked before he placed one more kiss on Henry's lips. "Your new canvases will be in this afternoon."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~ 3100

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

_**FLASHBACK**_

Wednesdays were nice. He would never say they were his favorite, because if he were to be completely honest with himself – he missed Henry on Wednesdays. But still, they were nice.

They had declared Wednesdays to be _**Me Time**_ for Pike. Henry didn't even go to his studio on Wednesdays – which meant the house was immaculate by the time Wednesday night rolled around.

And on this particular Wednesday night Pike found himself in the same place he usually ended up – relaxing in an old comfortable lawn chair in the small yard behind the store. He drank a cold beer and soaked up the warm, summer night air while watching the moonlight dance on top of the tiny ripples in the water of the lake. It was a clear night, so he indulged in counting the stars and thinking about Henry.

He liked sitting alone and thinking about Henry.

He instinctively reached down to pet Frances and when his hand only met with air, he remembered that she was at home. The store, and the yard behind it, were no longer the place he called home - now his home was with Henry. Sometimes when he spent _**Me Time**_ in his former home and it felt like things were just like they used to be - Pike and Frances and lots of time to think - he had a flash of panic at the memory of his loneliness before Henry. And even though _**Me Time**_ was definitely something he needed, Pike understood perfectly that he wouldn't want more than one night of it in his week, because those random moments when his brain forgot that his life was not as it used to be – his heart ached. He was so much happier now that he had someone to love. He never wanted to be without it.

He never wanted to be without Henry.

As a star shot across the sky he felt himself smiling. He knew that he and Henry overused the metaphor – but it was about as romantic as either of them would ever be and they both really enjoyed the notion that their love was destined. They liked thinking about Henry dancing and running until Pike gave him a reason to stand in one place long enough for Pike to find him and hold his long arms out far enough to catch Henry as he fell from the sky. Their Earthly story just fit so perfectly with the folklore. Pike was like the village elders who tempted Henry's hunger with food and love. Henry was the dancing children who, unlike the ancient myth, succumbed to his lifelong hunger and allowed himself to be tempted into falling.

And Pike caught him.

But when Pike really thought about it – Henry had caught _**him**_ too. Pike had been hiding himself – so afraid of human connection and love that he became the town's reclusive, but kind, generous shop-keeper. People tried over the years, but Pike kept them all at arm's length. The only soul he would allow close to his heart was Jim – the father he never really had and the man who made sure that Pike didn't hang onto the darkness that consumed his life as a young boy. Jim Soams had been the first man to save him.

Henry was the second – and the last as far as Pike was concerned.

And while Jim had been the one to show him what a good man looked like – Henry was the one who showed him how to be a part of the world around him. Henry showed him how to be part of family and friendship. Henry helped him learn to be comfortable with conversation and interaction and social engagements. It was through Henry that Pike found a way to open his heart to form connections with the people who had always loved him. Now that he had Henry, Pike could let that love in and he was amazed by how happy that made the people in his life.

He felt a swelling in his chest as he thought about how much he loved the beautiful man named Henry Hart. He loved him so, so much. As the swelling became a bursting sensation, Pike swallowed the last of his beer and declared _**Me Time**_ officially over for the week.

Thirty minutes later he walked into his dark house, lit only by the dim glow that filtered into the kitchen from the sitting room. He found Henry curled up on the couch with a book on his chest and his reading glasses askew on his face. The reading lamp was the only light on in the room, which told Pike that Henry must have dosed off while the sun was still out enough to light up the room.

Pike was a little concerned because that had been hours earier. He quietly sat next to Henry and noticed a light sheen of sweat covering Henry's face - and he was shivering. When he placed his hand underneath Henry's thin, cotton t-shirt he realized why his sleeping lover was so sweaty. Henry had a fever.

Henry stirred at the touch and opened his bleary, red eyes only enough to let Pike know he was no longer asleep. He looked miserable.

"Not feeling well?" Pike asked. He reached for the old afghan draping over the back of the couch and covered Henry's shivering body.

"M'okay." Henry couldn't keep his eyes open.

Pike smoothed away the hair that was sticking to Henry's forehead. "You're burning up, Baby."

Henry cracked one eye and tried to make a sarcastic-snorting sound that only ended up sounding like a frail squawk. "Baby?" His voice was weak and rough.

"You _**are**_ my baby when you're sick." Pike couldn't help grinning. "And you're definitely sick."

"Am not." Henry pouted – sort of.

Pike ignored him. "Did you take anything for the fever?"

"No fever." Henry insisted. "I'm too cold to have a fever."

"Where do you feel sick? Is it your sinuses?" Pike asked so he could get Henry the right kind of medicine.

Henry shook his head. "Tummy. Haven't been able to keep anything in me all day."

"Oh." Pike's concern grew. "Nausea? Have you been throwing up? Or is the from the other end?"

Henry groaned. "I don't want to be having this conversation with my boyfriend."

Pike couldn't help the little chuckle from escaping. "Your boyfriend has intimate knowledge of your tail-end, Henry. We have the ruined sheets to prove it. I think it's okay to talk to me about diarrhea."

Henry pulled the afghan over his head and groaned again.

"I love you. So stop being stubborn and let me take care of you." Pike uncovered Henry's pale, sweaty face. "Today Bird said something about Maggie having the stomach flu. I bet that's what you have."

"Are you sure I'm not dying?" Henry finally allowed himself to act as pitiful as he felt.

Pike contemplated Henry's question for a minute while his fingers soothed along Henry's tummy. "Maybe."

"Funny." Henry rolled his eyes.

"Let's get some Tylenol in you for now and if you're still dying in the morning we'll go into Doc Porter's." Pike lifted the afghan and helped Henry sit up. "Okay?"

"Where are you taking me now?" Henry asked, genuinely confused from the light headedness that came from sitting up.

"Bed." Pike answered. "Let's go." When Henry fell back onto the couch, Pike realized Henry was much weaker than he appeared to be. He picked Henry up bridal style and carried him into their bedroom.

Henry protested the whole way. "Put me down."

"I carry you to bed all the time, Henry." Pike reminded.

"You throw me over your shoulder caveman style." Henry whined. "It's not the same. The only time a man should be carried to bed by another man is if the end result is frenzied, loud sex."

By the time Henry had made his point, he was lying in bed and Pike was working on the button and zipper of his pants. Once he had Henry stripped down to his tighty-whiteys, Henry's burst of energy had waned and he was no longer protesting. Pike pulled the covers over Henry's feverish body and kissed him gently on his hot forehead. "Stay awake long enough to take some Tylenol and drink some cold water."

"It'll go right through me." Henry mumbled.

"We'll take our chances." Pike insisted. "You need to stay hydrated."

Henry pulled the covers up to his chin and huffed loudly.

The sight of it sent Pike's heart soaring as he felt himself fall a little more in love with his adorable, mess of a boyfriend.

_**PRESENT**_

"Mmmmmmmmm." Pike buried his face into the back of Henry's neck while his arms wrapped around his lover's waist. "You smell good."

"You're delirious." Henry teased. "I smell like paint thinner."

"Well, since my lover is a painter, that would make the smell of paint thinner a bit of a turn on." Pike nipped the back of Henry's ear.

Henry tipped his head back to rest on Pike's shoulder. "We have a no-sex-while-the-store's-open-rule, remember?"

"Jim's closing up for me tonight." Pike whispered into Henry's neck. "So we'll be having lots of sex in a few hours. Lots and lots of sex."

Henry love this side of Pike. No one would guess how free and open Pike could be and Henry felt himself harden at the thought of it. He also felt that Pike was having a similar reaction as he pushed his ass into his lover's groin. "Pike…"

"I know." Pike put a tiny bit of space between them. "Just letting you know I'm getting off early tonight."

Henry giggled like a little girl.

Pike grinned. "What?"

"You said _**getting off**_." Henry shrugged and was really glad he wasn't actually looking at the man still standing behind him.

Pike trailed kisses along the side of Henry's face and changed the subject before they both got too worked up to stop themselves. "How long have you been here?"

"A couple of hours - I snuck in the back." Henry leaned against Pike again and sighed. "Do you like this one?"

"Yeah. I think I do." Pike rested his chin on Henry's shoulder and studied the half-finished painting. It was so different from anything he'd ever seen Henry do. "It's different from your usual style...but yeah, I like it."

"I'm not sure yet." Henry said. "It's just not going where I want it to go."

"It's dark. And I've never seen you use so much red before. It feels…when I look at it, I get this feeling of anger and fear. Mostly fear." Pike took a few more seconds to look at it. "What's the motivation?"

Henry ignored the question. "I can't decide if I like it or not."

"What's not to like?"

"It's just..." Henry sighed loudly. "I don't know."

"What is it, Henry?"

"It's about you, well - sort of - it's about what it felt like to be so close to losing the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me - that's you. I'm calling it _**Trepidation**_." Henry explained further. "It's about what it felt like the night I found you…_**that**_ night."

Pike took his time to study the canvas more. "I can see it. There's a brightness to it up here..." He pointed to top left corner. "...and it gets darker as it moves over to the bottom here."

Henry nodded. "Like a dying star..."

Pike tightened his hold around Henry even more. "I'm right here, Henry. I didn't..."

"I know...but this is what it _**felt**_ like that night."

"So what about it don't you like?"

Henry shrugged. "It's just not…I don't know. I wasn't angry that night – I was just scared out of my mind. I'm angry now and I think that's too prominent in this. I want less anger and more…terror." Henry explained.

"Oh." Pike breathed deeply to pull in the scent of his lover.

"I'm not sure...it should be...it's just not beautiful enough. It should be as beautiful as you are."

Pike kissed Henry's neck. "You want to talk about it?"

Henry shook his head and tried to stop himself from crying. "No."

"I'm sorry you were so scared, Henry." Pike wondered if they would ever really be free of it.

"In a way it's good that I can't get in touch with how it felt that night. I never want to feel that again." Henry turned in Pike's arms and kissed him. "Never."

Pike couldn't agree more, so he kissed Henry back with intensity. They kissed gratefully for what felt like days, until they heard the distinct sound of Jim clearing his throat from the doorway to Henry's studio.

"Sorry to interrupt you boys." Jim nervously wrung his hat in his hands. "But there's an officer of the law from Eureka out there to see you, Pike."

o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Fourteen?" Pike was shocked. "How…that's so _**young**_."

"Kids are getting into trouble younger and younger these days." The youngish looking officer explained. "One of them was only twelve."

"Oh." Pike stared at a spot on the floor. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How many?"

"Five." He explained. "Apparently one of them ran off before the beating started."

"Oh."

"They're all from Eureka proper. They were spending the weekend with the uncle of the youngest boy. He had a pool or something. Lives right outside of Big Eden." He filled in a little more detail. "They said you scared them so they ganged up on you and beat you up until you passed out."

Henry flinched. He hated how easily it rolled off the young man's tongue. "Where are they now?"

The officer looked toward Henry. "We're holding them until the Juvenile Court judge has his rotation up here next week. They're being held in the county jail – away from the adult prisoners."

"What'll happen to them?" Pike asked. He almost sounded pained.

"None of them have been in trouble before. So they'll probably get community service or something." The officer explained. "I just wanted to inform you that they had been apprehended."

"Thank you." Henry spoke after a long pause on Pike's part. "Pike and I appreciate it."

"No problem. You all have a good afternoon."

As the officer turned to leave Pike finally found his voice. "Wait."

Every man in the room looked surprised. All eyes were on Pike.

"If they…when they get community service...can they do it here?" Pike asked.

Henry felt every muscle in his body clench when he heard the question.

The officer just looked confused. "You mean you want the punks that beat you to the point of hospitalization – that destroyed your property – to serve their term here?"

"Is that allowed?" Pike asked.

"No one has ever asked before. I don't really know." He said, still a looking a bit confused. "You sure about that?"

"No!" Henry interrupted. "He's absolutely_** NOT **_sure about that."

"Henry…" Pike tried to calm him down.

"No, Pike!" Henry wasn't to be calmed. "There's no way in hell those kids are getting within a mile of you!"

"We'll talk about this later." Pike ended the discussion between him and his lover before turning back to the officer. "Could you find out if it's possible? There's a lot to do around here and I could use the help."

Henry stomped off toward the back of the store without another word.

"I'll ask the judge and let you know." The officer said before turning to leave. "Have a good day gentlemen."

The guys just stood around looking at Pike for a few minutes before Jim spoke up. "You might want to go on back there and check on Henry."

Pike sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Yeah."

He found Henry standing in the kitchen leaning his weight on his hands braced against the counter. He was shaking.

"Henry." Pike wasn't sure what to say after that.

"I won't allow it." Henry's tone was ominous.

"It's not up to you, Henry."

Henry spun around. His face was streaked with tears. "The _**hell**_ it isn't!" Henry yelled. "You're not the one…you didn't have to…NO!"

"I need to do this, Henry." Pike wasn't sure where to begin to explain. "It's…I just need to do this."

Henry charged at Pike until he was standing chest to chest. "You do whatever you need to do, Pike. But don't expect me to be here while you're doing it." With that said, Henry stormed out of the back door and slammed it closed behind him.

Henry didn't even know what he meant by it. He stewed over it for hours after he made his way home. Did he just break up with Pike? Was it an ultimatum that could lead to a break-up? Was it merely an empty threat? He just didn't know. The only thing he did know for sure was that he couldn't shake the feeling that either way he was losing Pike. He knew he could have handled it better, but at the time the only thing he could hear in his head was, _no no no no no no no no... _

He didn't want those boys anywhere near_** his **_Pike.

He paced around the house for over an hour before finally throwing himself onto the couch, burying his face in his hands, and crying for reasons he didn't fully understand.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~ 3400

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

_**FLASHBACK**_

Nothing could have prepared him for it.

_**Nothing.**_

He had a perfect life with a perfect man in a perfect little town that was so far from ordinary it was almost impossible to believe. Even though Henry had grown up in Big Eden, he was still a little skeptical that he wasn't in a post-mugging-coma somewhere in New York trapped in an alternate universe created in his brain.

Nothing could be this good for this long.

But it _**was**_ good.

Until the moment he found Pike lying in a puddle of blood in the middle of his torn apart store.

_**That**_ was something he could never - in a million years - have prepared for.

The day had been nothing outside of the usual. It was Wednesday and he had the day to himself. He would never admit it, but he had grown to like Pike's _Me-Time-Wednesdays_. It was on Wednesdays that Henry felt like he truly reciprocated in his relationship with his attentive, caring boyfriend. The first couple of weeks he tried to cook dinner. He gave that up after two burnt pot roasts and a near-miss-kitchen-fire. Instead, he now spent his day cleaning and puttering. He would do basic home repairs, mess around with the landscaping, and clean, clean, clean.

Pike always looked so pleased when he came home to a house that smelled like lemons.

Sometimes Pike would even leave a small list of things he needed done. He knew better than to call it a Honey-Do-List, because that would send Henry in a tailspin of testosterone charged denial - because on Wednesdays Henry did _**not**_ play the role of dutiful wife...or whipped-husband...or any variation of that particular theme.

They both knew he sort of _**did**_, though.

So it wasn't at all unusual that on this particular Wednesday, the sun had set and Pike wasn't home yet. It _**was**_ Wednesday, after all. So Henry put the pizza he picked up in town into the oven to stay warm and sat on the couch to read a little while he waited for _**Me-Time**_ to officially end.

When he woke up a few hours later the first thing he felt was a twinge of..._trepidation_. It was such a brief flash of emotion, he almost didn't notice it. He called the store five times within thirty minutes and when Pike still wasn't answering he decided to head out to make sure he didn't fall asleep in his old chair in the back of the store.

His heart raced faster and faster the closer he got to the store and he didn't know why. When he finally arrived and pulled up in front, his heart almost stopped.

Every light in the store was on and the front door was hanging wide open.

He knew something was very, _**very**_ wrong.

But what he found was so far from anything he could have imagined it took him a minute to react. He stood in the open doorway, scanning the shattered glass and toppled shelves. It wasn't until he saw Pike and blood and no movement what-so-ever that he snapped out of his shocked daze.

"Pike!" He heard himself scream as if he wasn't the one making the noise. He was kneeling next to Pike's crumpled body before he even knew he was moving.

"OhmygodPike..." He couldn't stop the pounding terror that filled him up with two words that were screaming inside of him in the same rapid rhythm of his heartbeat - _thump-thump he's-dead thump-thump he's-dead thump-thump he's-dead thump-thump he's-dead._ "...please, Pike."

He watched Pike's chest without touching - waiting, waiting, waiting for movement. _Breathe Babe. Breathe._ When he saw the faintest rise he exhaled a strangled sound of relief mixed with a sob. _Thank god._

He finally scooted closer and very carefully touched Pike's face. "Pike."

Nothing.

"Oh god. Pike. Come on, Babe." Henry gently searched Pike's scalp for injuries with the tips of his fingers. There was _**so much**_ blood. "Hang on, Pike. Please." Henry's voice shook as he continued his digital scan of his lover's body. There was so much swelling in so many places he couldn't really get a sense of how badly Pike was hurt. "God, Pike - what happened to you?"

Once Henry was sure that Pike was alive and not actively bleeding, he looked for the phone to call for help. "I'll be right back. I love you." The phone that usually sat on the counter next to the cash register had been pulled out of the wall and thrown out a window. Henry ran into the back of the store and almost cried when he saw the phone hanging intact on the wall next to the smashed espresso machine.

He dialed 9-11.

But this was Big Eden, not New York. He was routed to Eureka's emergency response center which did him no good at all. He screamed _**help me**_ after the dispatcher began explaining Big Eden's 9-11 routing system.

He didn't _**care**_ about Big Eden's 9-11 routing system. Why was this woman wasting precious time that Pike may not have. The woman finally _**finally**_ told him what he needed to hear - an ambulance was on the way. She was explaining something about the Eureka police being dispatched to the scene but Henry didn't care about anything except the ambulance.

He hung up and called Jim. Jim called Grace. Henry had babbled and knew he wasn't making sense, but both Jim and Grace understood enough to know something terrible had happened to Pike and Henry was falling to pieces.

Within twenty minutes that felt like twenty years, Henry was climbing into the back of the only ambulance in town. He refused to let go of Pike's hand - the one that wasn't splinted. "Drive fast, Jennie"

"Always do." Jennie said before shutting the back door.

Jennie's partner, Carol, adjusted Pike's oxygen mask as the siren started. She stole a quick glance at one broken man hovering over the other broken man. "He'll be okay, Henry."

But Henry didn't hear a word of it.

_**PRESENT**_

As the sun set behind the lake, Henry started to feel guilty. He could almost see Pike sitting on the other side of the rippling water looking sad and confused.

Henry had never been so angry with him before.

But Henry had never been so afraid before.

He needed to apologize for being such an ass and then he needed to explain.

It was time to talk about it.

He paced around the living room before finally settling himself on the couch to wait for Pike to get home. He rehearsed his apology over and over again until he was so wound up he couldn't wait anymore. He bolted from the couch, grabbed his keys from the counter near the sink and told Frances he'd be right back.

He couldn't just sit around and wait for Pike to get home. Henry needed to fix it and he needed to fix it now.

He continued practicing his heartfelt apology during the short drive from their home to the store and felt confident that he could make amends for his little fit earlier in the day while also convincing Pike that having those boys serve their community service at the store was not a good plan.

Pike would see it his way. He was sure of it.

It was when he pulled into the parking spot behind Pike's old truck that everything Henry had so carefully rehearsed disappeared from his mind.

He looked at the open door of the store that was flooded with light from the inside and he couldn't stop himself from closing his eyes with the hope that when he opened them again, he wouldn't be seeing what he was seeing.

It was just like _**then**_. Exactly like _**that **_night.

_This isn't possible._

He opened his eyes and nothing had changed.

_No._

He couldn't feel anything. Not the pain in his shoulder as he slammed himself against his truck door because he tried to get out before he had opened it. Not the pounding of his feet as he raced into the store. Not the way his heart stopped and his breath escaped his lungs in a rush of disbelief.

He felt nothing.

And this time as he stood in the doorway, ignoring the destruction around him so he could focus on the way Pike's chest moved as he breathed, Henry could do nothing by scream.

He couldn't move from the spot where he stood.

The only thing he could do is scream Pike's name and try not to hyperventilate.

Because this time Pike's chest _**wasn't**_ moving. Not even a little.

And the last thing he remembered before everything went black was the sound of his own head hitting the floor.

He hit the floor _**hard**_ and grief filled him as the black slowly disappeared to reveal light filtering through his closed eyelids. Then he noticed that the floor he was sprawled across was covered with the colorful rug of his living room. He shook his head to clear the fog and slowly pulled himself out of the nightmare he had been experiencing to realize he had fallen off of the couch.

The room was lit only by the ambient light filtering through the doorway from the kitchen and he was _**desperate**_ to see Pike.

His heart pounded in his ears for the entire drive to the store. Even though he knew it was all just a dream – a part of him still feared he would walk into another nightmare, one that he couldn't wake from. As he pulled into the front of the store and saw that the lights were off inside and the sign on the front door read _closed_, he took a deep breath in relief and nearly sobbed.

He made his way in the dim moonlight to the back door where he used his key to enter the building. He was expecting to find Pike asleep in his lawn chair, but instead found that the back of the store was as dark and quiet as the front.

Without turning on any lights, Henry crept through the old kitchen, passed the open door of his studio, and walked through the closed door leading to the store itself. At first he didn't see Pike anywhere and his heart felt like it was suddenly exploding out of his chest. When he heard a rustling sound coming from the center of the store, he focused more intently and watched as his sleeping partner tried in vain to find a more comfortable position on a couch that was much too small for his tall frame.

Henry quietly stepped into the circle of mismatched furniture and sat in an old chair across from Pike. He found himself mesmerized by the rise and fall of Pike's chest and realized after several minutes that he had been timing his breaths. It was this detail that finally broke Henry wide open. He couldn't stop the flood of tears from cascading down his face. He buried his face in his hands in an attempt to muffle the sound of his own repressed pain and allowed himself to _**feel **_it – _**all**_ of it.

He almost lost him. One more well placed kick or punch and he could have lost everything.

Everything that mattered, anyway.

It was almost more than he could bear to even _**think**_ about.

The old Henry – the one that refused to stand still long enough to let anyone find him – would have ran fast and far by now. There was no way he would have gotten so dependent upon another that he would feel _**paralyzed**_ at the thought of losing them.

But he _**wasn't **_the old Henry.

He was _**Pike's**_ Henry.

And Pike's Henry without _**Pike**_ was only a shell.

An _**empty**_ shell.

_God. I could have lost him._

Henry pulled himself together enough to look at Pike again. This time he didn't focus on the rise and fall of his steady breathing because he was met with glistening, dark eyes. Pike didn't speak, he just looked at Henry with sullen and complete attention.

Even in the dark Henry thought Pike was so beautiful.

_I almost lost him._

He pulled himself from the chair and walked away. He just couldn't look at him. Not now. Not so soon after such a vivid nightmare. A nightmare that had been burning him like a precision laser in the back of his brain since the moment he found Pike's beaten, motionless body months earlier.

He found himself standing in front of his unfinished canvas. The one he titled _Trepidation_. The one he couldn't seem to finish because it just wasn't quite right. He picked up a brush and dipped it into a glob of thick cobalt paint - paint that he couldn't remember opening. He patted the wide brush against his denim covered thigh and reached his shaking hand toward the canvas once he was satisfied that he had left only enough paint on it to wash the image on the canvas with a hue of blue.

And wash he did. Over and over and over. Henry couldn't stop himself from attacking the canvas with thin layers of the coldest shade of blue. Each swipe of his brush brought him closer to satisfaction. The piece was finally transforming into exactly what he meant for it to be. It was finally expressing every terrifying nuance of that singular moment in time when he didn't know whether his love was dead or alive.

"Henry?"

The careful tone in the voice behind him froze Henry's hand in mid-stroke.

He heard the shuffle of big feet approaching before he felt the heat of the man – hotter than usual because Pike always radiated heat when he slept.

Always.

And the fact that Henry _**knew**_ that about Pike only added another layer of fear to his current emotional roller coaster.

_I could have lost him._

He felt big hands with long fingers gripping his shoulders and he wanted to run.

"Henry?" Again with a tone that was a mixture of concern and apology.

He fought his lifelong, learned instincts and _**didn't **_run. Instead he turned and wrapped himself around the body of the man that radiated heat when he slept and held on tight. As his silent tears became audible sobs, he felt strong arms pull him closer and hot breath against his temple.

"I can see it now." Pike spoke with clear understanding of what was happening in this moment as he looked beyond the man in his arms to focus on the panting behind him. "You were so scared."

Henry's strangled sob was answer enough for both of them. They stood together for a long time, until Henry could take a deep breath and form a complete sentence. "I want to talk about it now."

"Okay." Pike didn't let go and he didn't say anything more than that one word.

It was perfectly Pike and Henry loved him for it.

Henry rolled his head until his wet face was buried in Pike's chest. He took a calming breath through his mouth before a took another through his nose so he could take in the warm spice of Pike's scent. "I thought you were dead."

That was all he could manage to say before the sobs took over again.

But it was really all he needed to say. That was the thing about what he and Pike shared. Words weren't all that important. They both had a knack for understanding what was left unsaid as if they could read each other's hearts.

Henry's hands dipped underneath the back of Pike's t-shirt so he could feel warm skin. Pike pulled Henry even closer with one hand around his shoulders and one hand holding Henry's head protectively against his chest.

Pike held Henry and looked at the painting. It's not like he didn't know Henry was afraid that night. But it wasn't until this moment that he understood it _**completely**_. Henry was wounded that night too, except his wounds were still gaping open and bleeding. Knowing this only made Pike's resolve stronger. Because now he knew Henry needed it as much as he did.

"If it's too hard for you, I'll call up to Eureka and tell that police officer that I changed my mind." Pike kept his grip on Henry tight and strong. "But I would prefer to follow through with it. If the judge allows it - I would like to..."

"Pike." Henry wanted to push Pike away and scream, but instead he moved his position enough to bury his face into Pike's neck.

"Just hear me out." Pike asked. "Okay."

Henry's answer came in the form of hot breath on his skin. Pike took that as a sign to continue.

"They are a bunch of kids. What they did that night is only one part of their story. Just one. I saw them, Henry. They were scared. Scared and too young to know better." Pike explained. "I want to show them another way. I want to show them that they can be forgiven and be accountable and be better than they were that night. I can do something for them that no one else can do, Henry."

"Why do you want to do _**anything**_ for them after what they did to you?" Henry no longer felt mad about it, he just felt numb.

Pike nuzzled his nose against Henry's ear. "You mean what they did to _**us**_. It's not just me they hurt that night, Henry."

"I'm not sure I can be as forgiving." Henry admitted.

"_**I'm**_ sure." But Pike knew better. "You _**can**_."

And that was all they needed. That was their big talk and brought all the resolution they needed to move beyond the tension and the bad feelings and the revelations. Henry understood Pike and Pike understood Henry.

It was just that simple.

Pike needed to give back. He needed to repay the goodness offered to him as a young boy. He needed to be the man Jim Soams had taught him to be.

It was just something Pike had to do.

And Henry would stand by him all the way. But Pike understood that for Henry it was terrifying and he would need some time to work through that feeling before he would be able to completely trust Pike's decision.

Of course that was assuming Henry _**could**_ ever trust Pike's decision.

Pike understood _**that**_, too.

"I guess we'll just wait to see what the judge says and go from there." Henry knew he needed to say it out loud.

"Okay." Pike kissed him on his forehead and appreciated the moment.

"I'm going to work on this for a while." He nodded toward the canvas. "I'll meet you at home later." Henry said without letting go of his hold on his boyfriend.

Pike squeezed harder. "Okay."

Henry finally pulled away so he could look into Pike's dark, warm eyes. "I love you so much." He could feel his eyes welling again and suddenly didn't care if Pike saw him crying.

"I love you, too." Pike smiled. "So, so much."

"Maybe we can talk more later?" Henry seemed almost shy about it.

Pike kissed him. Really, _**really**_ kissed him. "Okay."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~ 2400

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

_**FLASHBACK**_

Not a word was spoken since the moment they walked through the side door into the house. Henry was brooding and Pike wasn't sure he wanted to know why.

It had been such a strange day.

Henry was fine until right after lunch. He'd been shooting dagger-eyes at everyone he ran across ever since.

Pike had tried to ask him what was wrong, but Henry just snapped at him before closing the door of his studio in his face. Pike wouldn't admit it to his boyfriend, but that stung a little.

Mostly because he had absolutely no idea what he had done wrong.

Later, as he was passing through the living room to change for dinner, Henry grabbed him by two belt loops from behind and toppled him onto the couch. "Not so fast."

"Henry, what is mmphh…" Pike was silenced with a deep kiss. It was forceful and just shy of angry.

And arousing as hell.

Henry pulled back just long enough to say, "You're mine. I'm your man and you're mine."

Of course Pike already knew that, but if Henry wanted to reinforce the obvious with urgent kisses and grinding hips – who was Pike to argue.

Henry didn't need to tell him that something upsetting had happened at some point during the day. The way Henry was tugging at zippers and pushing Pike around until he was leaning over the back of the couch with his hind-end in the air told Pike everything he needed to know.

Henry had a bruised ego.

And when Henry had a bruised ego the only thing that seemed to make him feel better was assertive, slightly aggressive, dominating sex - where _**he**_ was the one assertively, slightly aggressively dominating.

Pike loved it despite the fact hat he wasn't too thrilled with the way Henry usually felt preceding these rare occasions - Pike hated seeing Henry upset in any way.

Even though it was never something they talked about out loud, they had both agreed at some point along the way that Henry preferred bottoming and Pike preferred whatever made Henry happy - and so their roles were established without much fanfare.

No big deal. They had pretty great sex.

But Pike would by lying if he said he didn't like to feel Henry moving inside of him every once in a while. And it wasn't that Pike felt as if his prostate was being neglected due to his rare opportunity to bottom, because Henry never neglected that magical gland and often stimulated Pike with his fingers while he sucked him off.

Pike loved _**that**_ too.

But there was something about feeling Henry coming inside of him that made Pike feel so possessed...cherished...connected. And knowing that he was also making Henry feel powerful and manly upped the wattage of every single emotion.

And he was feeling the full range of emotion as he held tight onto the back of the couch and enjoyed Henry's fast, hard penetration. The only words he seemed capable of uttering were _so good_, _ohgod_, and _don't stop_ - mixed with Henry's name and moans that came from deep within his soul.

It was fast, but it was good - as it usually was. Pike felt as if he no longer had a skeletal structure as he lay sprawled across the back of the couch gasping for breath. Henry was draped across his back, panting and kissing damp, dark skin. "What was that all about?" Pike asked between gasps.

"Nothing." Henry huffed and pushed himself off of Pike enough to speak without being muffled by Pike's back. "Is it so hard to believe that I'm capable of..."

"Henry." Pike interrupted.

"What?" Henry snapped.

Pike tried to look at his offended lover, but it was impossible from their current positions. "You know I didn't mean it that way. But I know you and I know something happened today that upset you and I want to know what it was."

Henry rolled himself to the side and plopped into a sitting position next to Pike and leaned his sweaty head against Pike's sweaty hip. "Today I heard Lloyd tell Leon that I was your He-Wife."

"He-Wife?" Pike turned his head in the other direction so he could look at his insecure lover. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it. I'm no one's _**wife**_." Henry tugged his shirt from his sweaty body. He got frustrated when it got stuck and the pout on his face was adorable.

Pike knew better than to say anything though.

He slid and twisted himself off of the back of the couch until he was sitting next to Henry. He helped get the damp garment over Henry's head before taking his own shirt off and placing it underneath him so he wouldn't get anything messy on the couch cover. "I'm sure no one thinks you're the wife…"

Henry just shrugged. He kicked his pants and underwear off of his feet with a huff of frustration and leaned himself against Pike. "I'm gay. That means I love men – that doesn't mean I'm a woman."

"I know that, Henry." Pike said while suppressing his urge to laugh.

Henry moved his head enough to look at Pike. "I didn't hurt you did I?" He asked in all seriousness.

_Uh oh._ Pike wanted to make sure he said exactly what his overly sensitive lover needed to hear. He took a gamble and hoped he guessed right. "Just a little bit – but it felt so good it didn't matter."

That seemed to be the right mixture of _you're-such-a-manly-brut_ and _you're-such-an–outstanding-lover _because Henry smiled fondly and rubbed Pike's hip gently. "I'm sorry I got a little carried away."

"I love it when you get carried away." Pike leaned into Henry and kissed him. He grabbed Henry's hand and slid it from his hip to his painfully hard erection. "See how much I loved it?" He saw a flash of _I-can't-even-make-my-lover-come_ in Henry's eyes and immediately went into damage control mode. "I was hoping if I held off I would be rewarded with some of the magic you can do with this mouth." He kissed Henry deeply so there was no doubt which mouth he was talking about.

That was exactly what Henry needed to puff up again because the next thing Pike felt was the hard suction of Henry's hot, wet mouth.

It felt so good.

"Henry..." Pike knew that this was one of those occasions when he needed to make lots of noise. He placed a hand on the back of Henry's head to make sure he stayed right where he was and groaned a little louder than he usually would to express his pleasure. "...that feels so good."

Yeah - they had pretty great sex.

_**PRESENT**_

When it started, Pike felt it from the fog of sleep. He had tried to stay awake until Henry got home - they needed to talk - but Pike was exhausted from the day-long roller coaster of emotion and only realized he had drifted off when he felt Henry's simple, sweet kiss. It was just brush of lips to skin, right between Pike's shoulder blades.

It was intensely comforting.

"You awake?" Henry spoke into Pike's skin before he skimmed his lips across the widest part of his back.

"Been waiting for you." Pike started to roll over - after such a tense day between himself and his lover, Pike craved the flavor of Henry's kiss. Before he could get himself fully onto his back, Henry stopped him.

"Let me..." Henry's voice cracked with emotion. "...I just need...let me." Henry struggled to express his need.

_Let me have you, all of you. Let me control you. Let me fill myself up with your scent and taste and heat. Let me..._

_Let me feel how __**alive**__ you are._

Pike understood without any further explanation. He sprawled out - face down, legs and arms splayed - and let Henry take whatever he needed. He felt wet heat from Henry's tongue and tears leave a trail along the plain of his back. He felt the sharp sting of teeth as Henry bit both cheeks hard, the only thing keeping the sting on the right side of painful was the fact that Henry hadn't yet removed Pike's underwear.

He felt the hot gush of Henry's breath through the cotton fabric, "You're my everything."

"Henry..."

"No..." Henry nipped at his hip as he slowly slipped Pike's briefs down his thighs. "...don't want to talk about it."

He knew they needed to talk about it, work it out, hear each other and reach a middle ground...but Pike relented after Henry's tongue breached his most private of places. After _**that**_ he couldn't seem to put two words together. He was lost between concern for his lover and exquisite, blissful pleasure. It was sloppy and wet and so desperate in nature that Pike felt an ache in his chest despite the pulsing desire he felt everywhere else.

As Henry's tongue plunged deeper, the pressure from his stubbled cheeks and chin added to the overwhelming mixture of pleasure and emotion raging through Pike's body and soul. Pike understood that Henry was speaking without words - expressing his pain and fear through hungry, fiery intimacy.

And despite the fact that Henry stopped before anything really started, Pike knew that he had just experienced one of the most intense and intimate moments he and Henry had ever shared.

"I'm sorry." Henry's voice was low and rough and Pike felt it on the back of his neck more than he actually heard it. Henry had stretched himself along Pike's back and had his face buried in Pike's neck. He was crying. "I'm not getting hard. I'm sorry. I can finish you off with..."

"Henry, stop."

"I can't..."

"Henry..." Pike just wanted to make it better. He hated seeing Henry hurting. He clumsily rolled himself over, trying not to dislodge Henry too much in the process. Once he had himself settled again he wrapped his arms around Henry and adjusted his lover's smaller body so Henry was once again draped completely over the top of him. It was only then that Pike realized that Henry was still fully dressed. He even still had on his shoes. "I'm sorry, Henry."

He wasn't sure what he was sorry for - not entirely. He was sorry Henry was sad - he was sorry Henry was scared - he was sorry Henry was so angry about something that Pike had to do. But mostly he was sorry that Henry had been carrying the weight of it all on his own for so long.

He felt Henry nuzzle into the space underneath his chin. Pike gently stroked his lover's back while Henry cried for a while, Pike wasn't really sure how long. When Henry started to calm down a bit, Pike felt exhausted, staccato-huffs of breath against his neck as Henry tried to get enough air into his lungs.

After a few minutes of silence interrupted only by the sounds of their breathing, Henry grumbled into Pike's shoulder. His tone was both defeated and resigned. "I guess we'll just wait to hear what the judge says."

Pike tightened his embrace. "Yeah."

And there was really nothing else left to say. It was just their way. They never needed a lot of words. Pike knew that Henry understood and that even though it scared Henry to tears - literally - he was going to support it because he _**always**_ supported Pike.

Pike exhaled lung full of air as relief washed over him. "It's late." He kissed the top of Henry's head - right on the bald spot, which had become a simple gesture they had both grown to love. "We should get you out of these clothes and get some sleep."

"Okay." Henry sighed and wriggled himself into a more comfortable position against Pike's side.

Pike decided to just pull Henry as close as possible and worry about proper sleeping attire later.

They had both done a good job of avoiding the _**subject**_ without avoiding _**each other**_ for the rest of the week. It was something that Henry was starting to get used to and almost trust. He and Pike had some strange connection that Henry never thought he would find in his lifetime. It was about more than attraction and love - though those two things were definitely a significant part of the bigger picture. It was also about a lifetime of longing. For Pike it was a lifetime of longing for the unrequited love of a boy who never understood his own beauty. For Henry it was a lifetime of longing to be loved without risk of feeling any more of the pain he still carried with him from the day his parents died.

Neither thought they would ever have it - which meant both of them cherished and appreciated what they had found in each other - which meant there was no room for extended periods of tension between them.

It's just the way it was.

Henry had almost forgotten that there was a giant black cloud looming over them. Especially after a few nights of lively, loud sex. He and Pike had been unusually amorous considering the unresolved, anxiety-filled dispute simmering beneath the surface. But they made a silent pact to deal with it when and if they needed to deal with it. Until then they would appreciate what they have because they both knew how close they had come to losing it.

Denial worked just fine for Henry.

Until the phone rang while he was refilling his cappuccino. Jim answered and the words Jim spoke to Pike as he handed him the phone chilled Henry to the bone.

"It's for you Pike. It's the Eureka magistrate."

Pike slowly reached for the phone while looking apprehensively into Henry's frightened eyes. Right before he gripped the receiver, he changed his mind and headed to the back of the store. "I'll pick it up in the kitchen, Jim."

On his way through the door, Pike grabbed Henry by the hand and pulled him through the door with him. Before he picked up the receiver from the old wall phone hanging on the kitchen wall, he pulled Henry into a nervous kiss.

He took a deep breath once the phone was next to his ear. "I got it Jim, you can hang up."

Henry watched Pike's face as he listened to one side of the conversation. He didn't need to hear the other side of it to know what was happening. Pike face said it all.

The judge agreed.

_**Flashback**_

He didn't know how long he had been here - just sitting and watching. Watching Pike breathe. Counting each rise and fall of his chest. Touching the only patch of skin left unmarred by some yet to be named attackers. Pike had opened his eyes for only a few seconds right after Henry had finally been allowed to see him, but that seemed like so long ago. Henry needed to see those brown eyes again. He needed to hear Pike's voice.

"Henry."

Dean's voice was barely above a whisper but it sounded like screaming to Henry's ears. Henry couldn't tear his eyes away from Pike's chest. He was afraid that if he stopped watching, Pike would stop breathing.

Dean cleared his throat and tried again. "Henry."

Henry kept his vigil while he spoke - never taking his eyes off of the rhythm of Pike's breaths. "He won't wake up."

Dean stepped closer. "He will, Henry."

"Do you think he was scared?" Henry wasn't sure where the question came from, but he suddenly felt the need to ask.

Dean reached out to his friend, giving Henry's slumped shoulder a supportive squeeze. "Anyone would be scared, Henry."

"Do you think he wondered where I was?" The grief and guilt - and complete and utter terror - poured from Henry with each word. "Do you think he wondered why I wasn't there to help him? Do you think he wondered why I left him there to..."

"Hey, hey, hey..." Dean pulled at Henry. "Stop that."

"I should have..."

"Henry, stop." Dean shook Henry's shoulder. "Come here. You don't want Pike to hear this nonsense."

Henry finally turned his eyes away from his battered love to look at his best friend with something close to pleading. "He won't look at me."

"Come here, Henry." This time Dean puled Henry by the hand until he had no choice but to stand. Dean pulled Henry into his arms and held him close and tight. "You're not to blame. You did everything you could as soon as you knew something was wrong."

"I should have been there. I should have stopped it. I should have..." Henry finally broke and allowed himself to sob. "Oh god, Dean."

"That's it, Henry. You let it out. I've got you." And Dean meant it. He had no intention of letting go until Henry got it all out.

"He was late. It's me-time-Wednesday so I didn't think much of it until...so I figured that old truck of his broke down again so I...but he was..." Henry was whispering his confession into Dean's shoulder. "..he looked dead."

"But he's not."

"But he could have been..."

Dean pushed Henry away enough to grab his face between both hands. "But. He's. Not."

"Dean! You're not listening to me." Henry's face was twisted with anguished pain. "Pike could have died!"

"But he didn't. Henry, he's right here. He's here! Now pull yourself together."

Henry gripped both of Dean's wrists, trying to pull free so he didn't have to look at him. "Dean..."

"No. Henry. Listen to me. Pike's going to be okay. Something horrible happened and he didn't deserve it but it happened anyway. You weren't there to help him. But damn it Henry - you're here now. So pull it together so you _**can**_ help him."

Henry just looked through shimmering eyes, taking in everything he had just heard. Finally he nodded the tiniest bit and whispered. "Yeah. Okay." His nodding became more vigorous right before he sucked in a deep, cleansing breath. "Yeah. You're right. I'm...you're right."

"Good man." Dean kissed his friend on the forehead before letting go. "Now go clean yourself up. "

"I don't want to leave him. What if he wakes up?"

"I'll be right here." Dean reassured. "He'll need you - and you know Pike - If he sees you like this he'll just feel guilty and try to take care of you. So go clean up that mess of a mug."

Henry turned to look at Pike. He was still out, still breathing, still so beautiful Henry could scream. "Don't you dare leave."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Dean pointed to the bathroom on the other side of Pike's bed. "You can even leave the door open."

Dean watched Henry disappear into the bathroom and he let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He hated seeing his most cherished friend so devastated. Pike brought love into Henry's life - real, romantic love - the kind of love that Dean himself could never offer - not that he didn't try.

Dean stepped up to Pike's bedside and leaned a little to speak without risk of Henry hearing from the bathroom. "Come on, Big Guy. Let him see your peepers."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~ 2200

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

_**Present**_

Pike stood with his forehead resting on the back of the hand that still held onto the receiver of the phone long after he had hung it up. He didn't want to turn around to see the look in Henry's eyes. He knew what he would see - pain, fear, anger, and worst of all...defeat.

He knew Henry was trying to understand - and he had been trying for over a week. So Pike had been waiting for Henry to be ready talk about it, hoping it would come before the phone call.

But that didn't happen and now Pike needed to make sure Henry could handle it without completely falling apart. He finally screwed up the courage to face Henry's wrath and turned around. He was expecting to see Henry's face clouded with a mixture of anger and anguish but what he saw was so much worse. Pike wasn't even sure how to define the emotion that was radiating from Henry's eyes but it was heartbreaking to witness.

Pike wasn't sure if he was stalling or not, but he knew he needed to have this conversation without a bunch of guys in the next room and he had the beginning of a plan formulating in his head that involved a tree about seventeen miles away. "You want to go for a little drive?"

"Not really." Henry barely spoke above a whisper.

Pike expected that. "Meet me at my truck. I just need to tell Jim he's on his own for a while."

Henry paused for only a second. "Okay."

Pike expected that, too.

The drive took almost forty-five minutes. Pike had forgotten how treacherous the curves were up this way. He would look over at his passenger every now and then and wonder what was going through his mind. Henry looked a million miles away. Pike finally saw his destination a few hundred feet away and slowed to a stop on the side of the narrow two-lane road in what looked like the middle of nowhere. The only thing to see for miles in all directions were trees.

"Why'd you stop here?" Henry asked with sad confusion.

Pike opened his door and hopped out. Before he slammed it closed he leaned into the truck, "Come on."

"Where?" Henry said while gesturing with his hand in an exaggerated circle.

"Please." Was Pike's only explanation before he slammed the old truck's door closed and walked toward the tree line across the road.

"Fine." Henry said under his breath before opening his own door. The only thing Henry could do was follow.

By the time he reached Pike, he found him sitting on what remained of a felled tree. Pike patted the spot next to him in a silent request for Henry to join him.

Henry wasn't really in the right frame of mind to be too close to his boyfriend right now. If he were being completely honest - he was a little pissed at Pike. So instead of sitting next to him, Henry chose to sit on a rather large boulder a few feet away.

A flash of pain crossed Pike's handsome features and Henry felt immediately guilty for causing it - but not enough to move closer. He waited for Pike to explain himself while crickets filled the air with a nostalgic sound.

Pike pointed to the giant tree near the boulder Henry had chosen for his chair. "Do you see that scar in the bark of the tree?"

Henry looked at the huge, bark-less indentation and nodded. "Hard to miss it."

"It was put there by the front end of a 1976 Impala." Pike started to explain. "My mother was driving."

Pike had the same look on his face that he had the night Henry started falling in love with the gentle giant - the night he discovered Pike was doing more than just cooking - the night he realized Pike was beckoning for Henry to fall from the sky - right into his arms. Henry could no longer resist being near Pike, no matter how mad he still was at him. He moved to sit next to his partner and grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry."

Pike continued as if Henry hadn't said anything. "I tried to fix it. Fix _**them**_. Since a was just a little kid. But I couldn't. They just got worse and worse. The more I tried to fix it...the more they just turned on me. He started beat just as much as he beat her. And she couldn't fight back at him, so she took it out on me, too. I didn't really have anyone or...anyplace to feel safe. The only reason I joined Little League was to get out of that house. I didn't think they would let me - but I guess they wanted me out too. So I went to every practice and every game and always volunteered to help clean up the equipment and organize the storage room - anything to stay away from home. Jim started taking me home for supper a few times a week. I loved the Soams and sometimes when I was in my bed at night I would close my eyes and wish they were my parents."

Henry shimmied closer to Pike and squeezed in hand. Sometimes he forgot how much Pike had suffered. I was so hard to imagine such a kind, loving man could have been through so much and still remain so gentle. Instead of taking it out on the world - Pike chose to just stay out of it.

Until he took a gamble on Henry.

"When they died I thought it was my fault...because I wished and wished and wished..." Pike gulped hard and closed his eyes.

Henry felt the pressure of pained compassion in his throat as he watched Pike relive the worst part of his life. "Oh Pike..." He didn't know what else to say.

"They were two broken souls who in turn broke apart others - their son, their tribal community...anyone who got too close. They never got a chance to make things right...to make things whole again. I'm not sure they ever would have anyway - but..." Pike looked at Henry. The intensity in his eyes was unnerving. "Everyone deserves the chance to make things right and whole - it's the only way they can be whole themselves."

"That makes a lot of sense, Pike." Henry soothed.

"My ancestors believed that to punish wrong doing was to make the damage permanent. In order for the community to become whole again, the wrong-doer was expected to listen to each person he had harmed. He was expected to hear how his actions impacted them...changed them. It was through this process that he reached redemption. Once the entire village had spoken their truth, the wrong-doer chose his own way to be accountable to those he harmed. And it was through the self-discipline imposed upon himself that he too became whole again." Pike could see Henry taking in his every word. "It wasn't just me that was hurt that night, Henry. It was Jim and Grace and Dean and the boys. It was the guys and the school and everyone who counted on Dexter's General Store for staples and a warm smile or two." Pike reached to touch Henry's cheek. "It was you."

Henry could feel the trail of wet heat escaping his lashes.

"I want to make things right. I want to make things whole...for everyone, for those boys, for me...but mostly I want to make things whole for you." Pike ran his thumb underneath Henry's eye to capture a stray tear. "They hurt you too Henry, and they need to know what they did to you and they need to make amends...and then you'll be free from your burden."

"Damn it, Pike." Henry said quietly before he kissed Pike with a hard press of lips. "How am I supposed to argue with that?"

Pike pulled Henry's hand until he took the hint and straddled his lap. He held Henry tight against his body and inhaled his scent. He finally felt the wall that had been standing between them for days fall away.

Henry nuzzled against Pike's temple. "I'm not as forgiving as you are."

"You don't have to forgive them." Pike said before he kissed Henry's neck.

Henry tightened his hold around Pike's shoulders until they couldn't get any closer together. "You understand that I won't be letting you out of my sight."

Pike could only chuckle and nod.

"You can just kiss _me-time-Wednesdays_ goodbye for however long those kids are here." Henry warned.

"Understood." Pike finally felt like he and Henry were together on this plan. He was overwhelmingly relieved. "Thank you, Henry."

Henry pulled away to look Pike in the eyes. "Shut up, Pike." And he kissed him.

_**Flashback**_

Hospital coffee taste like piss.

Henry drank it anyway.

"Why is it taking so long?" Henry almost whined and he hated the sound of it.

Jim patiently sat across from him, drinking his own bitter cup of luke warm brew. "It's only been twenty minutes, Henry."

_Oh._

"It may take a little time since they have to compare this scan to the one from yesterday." Jim placed his mug on the table. "How are you holding up, Son?"

Henry couldn't keep the bitterness from his tone. "I'm not. I feel like I'm...I feel crazy, Jim."

"You're not crazy." Jim patted the back of Henry's hand.

"Yes. I am." Henry's voice came out louder than he intended. "You know what he told the police?"

It was rhetorical but Henry waited for an answer anyway. Jim finally shrugged.

"He sad he didn't even try to fight back. He just let a bunch of punk kids beat the hell out of him and didn't even try to defend himself. I don't know who I'm more angry at - him or the kids who beat him." Henry realized he was yelling and toned it down. "I want to scream at him and hold him at the same time. I'm terrified to be away from him and still so angry at him I could...I could have lost him, Jim. He didn't do a damn thing to...it's like he...I don't know...it's like he just gave up on us...he didn't care if he left me here. I don't think I even remember how to exist without him in my life and he just gave up on us."

"He would never give up on you, Henry." Jim spoke in a his usual calm cadence. "He hasn't given up on you since high school - why would he start now?"

"You tell me?" Henry snapped.

"It's easier to be angry than it is to be scared." Jim explained patiently.

"I haven't slept in over 24-hours so you're going to need to be a little less cryptic." Henry said sourly.

"You're scared. You just said it yourself. The anger is more about all the things you're scared of than it is about Pike himself." Jim forced Henry to look at him by gripping his hand from across the table. "It's okay to be scared, Henry. Anyone would be. But Pike needs you now. So let yourself be scared and save all the other stuff for later. There will be time for that after Pike is on the mends."

"You say it like it's so easy." Henry sounded a little less agitated. "How am I suppose to just stop being angry?"

"Well..." Jim leaned back in the plastic chair. "...why are you scared?"

Henry glared at Jim for even asking such a stupid question. "Because I love him! Because I've waited my whole life for what we have together. Because he's beautiful and didn't deserve what happened to him. Because without him I'm only half a man...because...he's..."

"That's how you do it, Henry." Jim smiled fondly. "Just focus on that and you won't have room to be angry."

Henry leaned back in his own chair and crossed his arms across his chest. He looked at Jim with a mixture of skepticism and respect before saying, "That sounds like something Pike would say. He's picked up some of the habits of a good man, it seems."

"I don't know Henry..." Jim smirked a little. "...maybe I picked it up from him."

"Maybe you did, Jim." Henry couldn't help chuckling. "Maybe you did."

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~ 3400

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

_**PRESENT**_

Pike had everything ready two days ahead of time. He had paint for the outside and paint for the inside and lots of rollers and brushes to do the job. Then, on the day the boys were supposed to arrive for their first day of the one hundred and twenty hours of community service, Pike stayed home.

He didn't want the overwhelm them with too much at once. He remembered the looks on their faces the night of the attack and he knew how scared they were. So Jim agreed to get them acclimated to the rules and the tasks to be completed, and Pike would come in around lunchtime to meet them.

Henry stayed home too. His reasons weren't so noble. He just felt better if he kept his eye on Pike right now.

When Henry woke up earlier in the morning, he was surprised to find Pike still with him. It was so rare for Pike to stay in bed after the sun was fully glowing in the sky - unless, of course, they weren't sleeping. "You okay?" Henry asked.

Pike was just staring at the ceiling.

Henry reached to rub one hand across Pike's tummy. "Hey."

"I'm fine." Pike sighed before rolling onto his side to look at Henry. "Just...nervous I guess."

"Understandable."

They just stayed there, face-to-face, with only the sound of Sam's old wall clocking ticking away in the hallway. It was comforting for both of them.

Pike finally broke the spell. "Pancakes?"

They didn't talk for the rest of the morning. Pike made breakfast while Henry started a load of laundry. Every now and then they would cross paths and one of them would skim their fingers on whatever exposed skin they could reach. It was just a way to reassure each other that the silence was okay.

After stuffing themselves with pancakes and cleaning up the kitchen, Pike hopped into the shower while Henry finished folding a basket full of fresh smelling bed sheets. Henry thought about joining him, just to distract him from his thoughts for a bit - but then thought better of it. He figured Pike needed to sort out his feelings more than he needed a soapy hand-job.

By eleven-fifteen they were on their way. Pike drove - nerves were clouding his features and Henry just wanted to go back home and keep him there forever.

_Why did I agree to this, again?_

When they pulled in front of the store twenty minutes later, Henry was shocked by what he saw. They were so small. One of them looked no older than ten or twelve. The information sheets sent over by the magistrate said that the youngest was fourteen and the oldest was almost sixteen. But to Henry – they just looked like a couple of fresh-faced little kids.

The information sheets also indicated that there were five of them – but only four participated in the actual attack.

_So why are there only two here now?_

Henry was still sitting in the truck with Pike – who was watching Bird instruct the two boys on the finer points of painting the exterior of a building. Henry tried to assess Pike's facial expression and body language, but he found it impossible. Pike was definitely in his turtle-in-the-shell mode. "I guess we should go over there and introduce ourselves." Henry said in an attempt to get Pike's attention.

Pike nodded – just a little nod, almost imperceptible.

"You okay, Pike?"

Again, he only nodded.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Henry ran his fingers through thick black hair for emphasis.

Finally Pike turned his head to look at Henry. He looked pensive. "I was just wondering how it will feel to them after they finally know my name."

Henry wasn't expecting that. At. All. But it made perfect sense that Pike would be thinking about it. It's just so perfectly-Pike. "It will be a lot harder to downplay it. It's like naming a pig. If you name a pig it's hard to eat it because it's more like a pet when it has a name."

Pike's brows knitted together. "A pig?"

Henry rolled his eyes playfully. "Yeah. A pig. It's just an analogy. Don't over-think it. All I'm trying to say is that once you have a name you won't be just that guy they kicked around. You'll be a real person with real feelings. They won't be able to downplay what they did."

"So you're assuming they're downplaying it?" Pike asked.

And that was perfectly-Pike, too.

"I'm just…" Henry wasn't sure how to respond. "Why don't we just get this over with. We'll probably all feel better once we rip off this band-aid."

Once again, Pike simply nodded before they both got out of the truck. When the boys heard the truck door slam, they turned toward the sound and Henry immediately saw fear in their eyes. They each took a step back and tried to stand behind Bird. Jim stepped from the store after hearing the sound of the truck as well. Henry wasn't sure who Jim was trying to comfort in this situation – Pike or the nervous kids.

"Hey Pike. Henry." Jim tipped his baseball cap in greeting. "I want to introduce you to our temporary helpers."

Pike's eyes never left the two boys. Henry understood that the crinkled-forehead-squint was Pike's thinking-face. He would imagine that to a couple of kids who didn't know him, Pike just looked mean. Henry stepped forward so he was a little bit in between Pike and the boys and held out his hand. "Hello boys. My name is Henry Hart."

Each of the boys reached out nervously to shake Henry's hand. They kept a wary eye on Pike. "Hello Mr. Hart."

"You can just call me Henry." He nodded in the direction of Pike. "This is Pike Dexter. He owns this place, but I guess you already know that." He tried not to say it with bitterness…but he didn't quite pull it off.

"You two got a name?" Pike suddenly spoke.

The kids could barely look him in the eye and they literally shrank from hearing Pike's voice. "I'm Dillan. This is Eddy." _They sound so damn young. _ Henry was shocked that the kids cowering behind Bird were capable of doing the kind of damage Pike had endured.

"Where're the others?" Pike asked in a tone that was hard to decipher.

Both boys looked at Jim, almost begging to be rescued. Jim took it upon himself to be the go-between. "Well…Pike…it seems that when kids their age are required to do community service, they have to have their parents agree to the terms. It seems that only these two boys were allowed to serve their hours here. The others are picking up garbage on Highway 200."

Pike's eyes were still trained on the boys. Henry was starting to feel a little sorry for them – which surprised him.

"Why didn't you try to get out of it, too." Pike got straight to the point. The boys just looked at the ground and shrugged. Pike's face softened a bit. "It takes courage to face your mistakes head on."

That got the boys attention. They looked at Pike through boyish lashes. "I'm going to make sandwiches. Are you guys hungry?"

"I sure am!" Bird said with his usual eagerness for anything that wasn't related to actual work.

Jim added, "I think that would be nice, Pike."

The boys had yet to speak. "Are you boys going to answer the question?" Pike asked. He didn't sound mad or irritated or in any way put out – he was simply asking.

They both nodded, still looking unsure of the situation. The one named Dillan said, "Thank you, Mr. Dexter."

"My name is Pike." He answered before turning around to go into the store. "And you're welcome."

Henry was trying to make sense of the exchange. Pike didn't appear angry, but he wasn't being overly friendly either. He didn't appear to be nervous, but he certainly wasn't at ease. Henry decided that there was no right or wrong way to feel in this situation. It was just going to have to work itself out. He was just relieved that he wasn't the only one feeling awkward about it. He pointed to the crate full of paint supplies next to a pyramid of paint cans. "Why don't you boys get the windows taped up before lunch. You can start painting after you eat."

They had planned out the three weeks or so that the boys would be working around the store. First on the list was painting the outside of the building. Pike had been meaning to do it for a long time. Once that was done, the boys would paint the inside. There were still many places where the repaired walls were bare drywall. If there was any time left after those two big jobs were done, Pike would send the boys to help Grace and Dean with anything they may need around the school and lumber yard.

That was the plan anyway. Since none of them had ever done this before - it was just a guess as to how much of the work could get done in the short time the boys were to be with them.

The process was carefully spelled out in the information sheets sent by the magistrate. A court appointed chaperone would drive the boys to and from their worksite. They would arrive no later than nine in the morning and leave no earlier than three-thirty in the afternoon. Pike had to sign off on their official court-issued timesheet every day and once the boys had met their required hours, Pike was required to report to the court regarding their performance and behavior. Since they lived so far from Big Eden, they were allowed to stay with an uncle - the one with the pool who lived right outside of town. And since the court appointed chaperone couldn't be a relative, Jim had agreed to do it.

Seemed simple enough.

On paper.

But in real time it seemed to throw Pike off quite a bit. Henry could see it in his face and in his walk and in the way his shoulders hunched from tension. Henry watched Pike pull food from the cold case and walk with heavy steps through the door that eventually led to the old kitchen and he wanted to scream _'I told you so'_ even though he knew it wasn't fair to even think it.

When Henry finally dared to follow Pike into the back of the store, he had shaken off his own irrational urge to scold his lover and felt fully prepared to play the role of supportive partner. He watched Pike lean against the sink and stare out of the small window above it for several minutes before he cleared his throat to let Pike know he was no longer alone.

"Need any help with lunch?" He asked from the doorway.

Pike's shoulders relaxed at the sound of Henry's voice.

Henry smiled and his chest swelled from knowing he could do that for Pike with five simple words.

Pike spoke without moving. "They're so small."

"Yeah, they are." Henry stayed in the doorway to give PIke some space.

Pike struggled to express himself. "They look so..."

"Innocent?" Henry tried to help him along.

Pike just nodded before he exhaled loudly. He stood still, just thinking, for a few minutes before he asked, "You mind slicing up some pickles?"

Henry took the invitation to move from the doorway. He grabbed the jar of pickles from the counter on the other side of Pike, making sure to lean into his body in the process. "I think I can manage that without burning anything."

Pike smiled and made a noise that wasn't quite a chuckle but definitely close. He bumped Henry with his hip. "I wouldn't be too sure of that."

They sliced and shredded and assembled sandwiches of turkey and cheese without any chatter. Henry looked at Pike and happened to catch his eye. "I get it now, Pike."

Pike quirked an eye brow. He was asking _'get what?'_ without words.

"After seeing Dillan and Eddy - I get it." Henry explained. "You're doing the right thing."

"_**We're**_ doing the right thing." Pike corrected.

They continued assembling sandwiches in comfortable silence. Once they had them all stacked on a tray, Pike leaned over just enough to give his love a quick kiss. "Thanks, Henry."

_**FLASHBACK**_

It had to be a nightmare because things like this just don't happen in Big Eden.

People didn't steal from each other.

Kids didn't scream 'mother-fucker,' 'fucking fag,' or 'go back to the rez' while they kick a man's head and chest before stomping on every other part of him.

Not in Big Eden.

_Not In my own..._ His outraged thoughts were interrupted by another blow to the head. They were small, but they had a hard kick. _Maybe they play soccer or something._ The pain was overwhelming and they just - didn't - stop.

Pike was sure that the only thing that would stop them was if he were dead.

And Pike didn't want to die. Especially since he felt like he had just recently started living.

_Henry._

It was really the only thing that scared him about the whole thing. What if Henry came in before they left? The thought of it was terrifying.

A well placed kick to the temple brought sweet relief. Everything went dark and he felt nothing. The only image he saw just above the surface of consciousness was Henry's face. The brutal blows faded into the warm, loving touch of Henry. Pike wondered if this is what it felt like to die - and if it was, he was okay with it.

He tried to focus on the image of Henry for as long as possible. It was like a blip of light - almost like when a television is turned off - then everything fell into blackness. But he could still feel the warmth of Henry's hand skimming along his back. Up and down with small, soothing circles. He could almost hear Henry's voice - saying his name softly. It felt like goodbye.

"Pike."

He wasn't ready. He just got everything he ever wanted and he wasn't ready to let it go. It wasn't fair.

"Pike."

_I don't want to die. _

"Pike. Open up those brown beauties."

Henry watched Pike's eyes flutter open. He looked sad and confused. Handsome. "You okay?"

Pike's eyes cleared as he started to pull himself out of deep sleep. Henry watched tears begin to well up as he became more aware of reality. "You were having one of those dreams again."

Pike just nodded and reached for Henry's hand.

"Come here." Henry pulled Pike closer. Pike scooted himself lower in the bed so he could nuzzle himself into Henry's neck. "You're right here where you belong. Everything is going to be okay."

It had been like this every night since Pike came home from the hospital. Every single night - for two weeks. It would start with slight twitching of Pike's long fingers. Within minutes Pike's body trembled while he whimpered quietly. Henry always woke up at the first twitch. He knew to be cautious - gentle touches with lots of space between them. Usually by the time Pike came out of it, he was sweating and breathing a little unevenly. Henry always knew when Pike was completely back by the way he clung to Henry and seemed to try to make himself as small as possible.

Which is what Pike doing now - his sweat dampened face buried into Henry's neck as he tangled his long legs with Henry's. Henry never complained because since the night of the attack, he felt a lot better when Pike was impossibly close.

They hadn't yet talked about them - the dreams. Pike would fall asleep within minutes of settling into Henry's comfortable heat, while Henry stayed awake and worried. Henry didn't push - he knew Pike and sometimes Pike didn't need to talk about his feelings, he just needed to know he was understood - and that was something that came naturally for them, without a lot of dialogue.

So Henry was surprised to hear Pike whispering, "I love you."

He sounded a little lost. "I love you, too." Henry's heart ached for his sweet man. "You okay?" He asked while combing his fingers through Pike's long, dark hair.

Pike kissed Henry's chest before he nuzzled a little more. "I just remember thinking that if you walked in they would hurt you too."

Henry wasn't sure what Pike was talking about - _**finally**_ - his dreams or his reality. "You mean in your dream?"

"No...yeah...both I guess." Pike looked up at him. "All I remember is that I was so afraid that if you walked into the middle of it, I would have to hurt them – because I couldn't let them hurt you."

And if there was ever an _'oh my god'_ moment – this was it. Henry had never considered that in a moment when Pike should have been fearing for his own life – he was instead fearing for Henry. He was fearing for the possibility of having to make a choice to hurt a bunch a scared little kids so they wouldn't hurt someone he loves. Henry wasn't even sure how to relate to that feeling – because Henry was pretty sure that he wouldn't think twice before beating the crap of every kid he could get his hands on that night.

But Henry always knew that Pike was a gentler man with nothing but compassion for others in his heart. He was understated in his awareness of everything and everyone around him. Henry felt the rough, hardness of Pike's ugly purple cast against the small of his back, which only reminded him of how incredibly lucky he was to have Pike to love.

"What kind of monster am I?" Pike asked. It was barely a whisper.

"What?" Henry was confused. He smoothed his fingers against Pike's cheek. "What are you talking about?"

Pike looked at him with tortured eyes. "I'd have chosen you. They were so small and I would have hurt them if I had to choose. I'd be lying if I denied it."

How was Henry supposed to deal with that? It was just…so beyond anything he would ever consider even thinking about let alone feeling bad about and here was Pike – so torn up over it that he was having nightmares. "But you didn't have to choose." Henry tried to reassure and knew he was completely missing the boat but he just didn't know what else to do. "You're a good man, Pike Dexter."

"I thought I was dying. And the worst part about it - dying - was leaving you. I'm not ready..."

"You didn't." Henry interrupted. He didn't want to hear the words spoken out loud. "You didn't then and you're not now and I love you."

Pike nodded. He understood. "The best moment in my life was the moment I opened my eyes in that hospital and saw you there."

It was Henry's best moment too but he couldn't get the words past the lump in his throat. He continued to comb Pike's hair with his fingers for a few minutes. "You need to sleep. Rest will get you better quicker."

Pike nodded again before he closed his eyes and relaxed against his pillow. His arm was still wrapped around Henry's waist as if he needed the reassurance that Henry was with him while he slept.

Henry didn't mind - even if the cast felt like a boulder against his ribs - he needed reassurances too.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~ 3000

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

_**PRESENT**_

"Hey Men!" Dean called from the open door of his truck. He saw Pike looking over the outside of the general store with the boys nervously standing behind him. "What's the word?" He asked after he reached Pike and stood next to him. He scanned the building while he waited for Pike to finish his inspection.

"Looks great." Pike finally said.

Dean heard both boys release a relieved gush of air. It was endearing. Dean turned to Dillan and Eddy and smiled. "It does. I hope you do just as good of a job today at the lumber yard."

"You guys sure you're okay with the plan for today?" Pike asked.

Pike always gave the boys respect. He always gave them a choice. At first Dean wondered if Pike wasn't clear that this was supposed to be about punishment for what the boys had done. But after a couple of weeks of observation, he realized that Pike got it right. It wasn't about punishment at all, it was about showing the boys how to be accountable - teaching the boys that there was more to them than one night of very bad, horrible decisions. Pike was patiently paving the road to redemption for two young boys who had so much to offer the world if they could just get on track.

Dean also realized that he loved Pike and loved the role Pike played in his life - for himself, for Henry, but most of all for his sons...who were circling the tall man like a shark and chanting, '_Ice Cream Ice Cream Ice Cream..._'

Pike grinned - obviously amused by his young almost-nephews. He looked at Dean with a sparkle in his eyes. "What do you think?"

"Just one." He said to his young sons authoritatively.

They squealed and ran into the store with gusto. Pike laughed in good nature before slapping Dean on the shoulder with affection. "I better go in and supervise."

Once Pike had disappeared behind the door of his store, Dillan asked, "Your kids love him, don't they?"

The question was unexpected. He wasn't sure how to respond, so he just looked at the boys with his mouth hanging open a little...blinking.

"He always looks so...happy...you know? When they're here, I mean. Like they make his whole day better just for showing up." Eddy added to what his young friend had started.

"Does he?" Dean asked because he didn't know what else to say.

Both boys nodded before Dillan said. "They're lucky."

"Yeah." Eddy agreed. "No one ever looks happy to see me come around."

Dean found it to be a little heart breaking. "I wouldn't be too sure about that, guys. I think we're all a little happier when you're around."

They looked at Dean with disbelief.

"Ben and Andrew love Henry and Pike. They're family. It was hard for them when Pike was...well...they're so young it was hard for them to understand what was happening. The only thing they knew for sure was that Uncle Pike was sad. We told them he had an accident and they were scared, but mostly they just wanted Pike to not be sad." Dean tried to explain without causing the boys to feel too bad about themselves. But he thought it was important that they know how what they did impacted his young sons. "Andrew had nightmares for a while. He would wake up screaming because his Uncle Pike had died. He's a little older than Ben, so he caught on to what was happening more than Ben did. Andrew knew that whatever happened to Uncle Pike was bad and it really scared him."

The boys were looking at their feet.

"But Pike's not sad now - so the boys are much happier. No more nightmares." Dean thought he had said enough. He saw that Eddy and Dillan understood and were sorry - even if they couldn't say it. "Pike always looks happy to see you guys, too. We're all happy to see you guys...so don't sell yourselves short."

They both looked up from the shameful avoidance of eye contact with surprise. Dean could see them both trying to absorb what he had just said. He wondered if this was the first time anyone had actually said something like that to them and the thought made him feel so much empathy for them.

"Let's go get some ice cream before we head out for the day."

_**FLASHBACK**_

The sounds of pots and pans and soft-spoken voices were filtering out of the kitchen. Pike couldn't hear what they were saying, but he knew they were talking about him.

Everyone was _**always**_ talking about him.

As if he weren't even in the same room most of the time.

It was just one of the things that he was struggling with since Henry brought him home from the hospital. They all treated him like he was fragile. Broken. Helpless.

He hated it and he loved them for it at the same time.

He look a deep breath, leaned his head to rest on the back of the couch, and closed his eyes. He heard the sound of exaggerated breathing coming from either side of him. He looked down and saw Ben and Andrew mimicking him. They were flanking him, sitting as close as possible - each one holding his hand - Andrew actually held his fingers because a big purple cast prevented anything else.

He felt his throat tighten from emotion before he swallowed the lump and asked through a warm smile. "What are you guys doing?"

"Medicating." Ben answered without opening his eyes.

Andrew opened his just long enough to glare and correct his little brother, "It's MEDITATING."

Ben just shrugged and pulled Pike's hand into his lap.

Once Andrew had settled back into position and closed his eyes he explained. "Uncle Jim said that when you get quiet it's not because your sad - it's because you're meditating. He said that will make you all better faster."

"He did?" Pike wondered why Jim had felt the need to say all of that. He wondered how upsetting all of this was for the boys he had grown to love so much. He wondered if maybe he's been selfish to mope around so much. He wondered if he could possibly love these boys any more than right now in this moment. "So why are _**you**_ meditating?"

"So you'll get better even faster." Ben explained as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

And that's when Pike realized he could definitely love these boys even more than he did only seconds before.

He leaned himself back and closed his eyes again, tightening his hold of the two tiny hands he held before he sighed happily. "Thanks guys."

_**PRESENT**_

"How'd he do today?" Henry asked Grace quietly so the boy in question wouldn't hear. He was finishing up his sweeping of the classroom floor. "Any trouble?"

"Not at all." Grace said sincerely. "He was a godsend! He's a natural with the little one's and the older kids seem to really like him, too. And look at this." Grace said before pulling a big piece of white paper from underneath a tray of art supplies.

Henry looked at the paper, which was streaked with watercolors. It was abstract but beautiful. "Did Eddy do that?"

"He sure did. He said he was just goofing around. I asked him to help the little ones with their little art projects and...this is what he came up with." Grace looked proud.

"Anything else, Mrs. Cornwell?" Eddy's voice squeaked from pre-teen hormones.

"Now Eddy - what did I tell you? Call me Grace." She combed her fingers through his mop of hair affectionately. "I don't know what I would have done today without you. Thank you." She smiled with sincerity.

Eddy blushed.

It sent a surprising warm feeling of fondness throughout Henry's heart. He was starting to understand that Eddy and Dillan were good kids who did a really bad thing on impulse and adrenaline. Henry was really starting to like them and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"This is really good, Eddy." Henry pointed to the watercolor Grace was still holding.

"You think so?" Eddy said, almost in awe.

Henry saw the admiration in his eyes and it felt good. "Yeah. You should give it a title."

"Title?" Eddy looked bewildered.

Henry nodded. "Yeah. Any great artist titles his work."

Eddy blushed again. "You think I'm an artist?"

"A _**great **_artist." Henry affirmed.

He could see Grace smiling in his peripheral vision.

"I...how do I know what to call it?" Eddy asked while he looked at the painting.

"Well...what inspired you?" Henry asked.

Eddy shrugged and looked confused.

Henry rephrased the question. "What were you thinking about when you were painting this?"

Eddy cocked his head and studied the swirls of color. To the untrained eye it would look random - but Henry saw the intent in the brush strokes. "Morning." Eddy finally answered.

"Morning?" Grace asked.

Henry wanted to make a stronger connection. He wanted Eddy to understand what inspiration really means to an artist. Henry felt like a mentor and it like a good feeling. "What about morning - be more specific."

Eddy thought about it for a few minutes. "I guess I mean mornings since I've been here. I like mornings. When we first get to the store, everyone is always so...I don't know...just chilling out and happy. Everyone always asks us how we are and what we did when we got home the day before. Like they really care - I mean, they...you all...listen. Like we matter."

Henry didn't know what to say next. That was not what he expected to hear - at all - and he felt honored.

And proud.

Of Eddy and Dillan. Of himself and the guys. But mostly he felt proud of Pike for being strong enough to create this amazing opportunity for everyone affected by the events of a night that should have never happened to any of them.

"Maybe you should call it _'Validation'_." Henry finally found his voice.

Grace gasped in her obvious approval and emotion.

Eddy's brow furrowed. "What does that mean?"

Henry didn't know how to explain it so he simply said, "Everything you just said...that's what it means."

Grace held it up so they could all look at it from the distance of her outstretched arms. "I think that's perfect." Her voice only warbled a little.

_**FLASHBACK**_

"Thanks." Henry sounded like he was barely hanging on as he took the steaming cup of coffee from Grace's hand. It was the first time he had left Pike home alone since he had brought his injured lover home from the hospital. It took a lot of convincing - from Pike - from Grace - from Dean and Anna. He finally agreed. One hour. He would take one hour for himself and then he was heading right back home to take care of Pike.

Pike insisted he didn't need taking car of, but Henry knew better. _"Of course you don't. I just need to think you do."_ Henry had lied just to keep Pike happy.

He sighed and realized that this was the first time he had felt even close to relaxed since the night he found Pike bleeding and unconscious. The realization only made his denial that everyone was right about him needing a little time-off from nurse duty even stronger.

"This is good coffee, Grace." Henry tried to talk about something other than Pike. He found it very difficult to pull off.

Grace just smiled a knowing smile. "It's Widow Thayer's special recipe. She wrote it down for me before she passed."

"What's the secret?" Henry asked - only the tiniest bit interested.

Grace chuckled warmly. "A tiny sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg, and black pepper."

"Pepper?" Henry quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

"The pepper was a trick. She was always stingy with her secrets." Grace grabbed Henry's hand as it rested on top of her kitchen table. "It wasn't so good with the pepper."

"I don't think you should assume it was a trick." Henry almost smiled. "I ate her cooking - remember?"

Grace laughed and it sounded like music to Henry's ears. "You might be right about that, Sweetheart. But it's much better without it, wouldn't you agree?"

"I miss her." Henry blurted. "She was...I think she was an angle in disguise."

"Maybe." Grace squeezed Henry's hand again.

"You always knew didn't you?" Henry looked intently at the woman sitting across from him. Grace had always been there it seemed - from when he was just a kid - even before his parents died. Grace was like part of his family and he loved her. "Just like Widow Thayer and Jim...and Sam. You all knew."

"It was hard to miss." Grace explained. "Pike loved you for so long. Since high school - it was plain to see. He never stopped."

"So you knew what you were doing that day - when you practically forced Pike to be meals-on-wheels for Sam and I." It wasn't a question. "You were trying to play matchmaker."

There was a twinkle in her eye. "I wasn't sure you would ever take the bait though. Especially after you found out Dean was back in town."

"I love Dean." Henry admitted. "So much."

"He loves you too." Grace said before she stood to refill their coffee cups.

Henry nodded. "I know. It just took me a lifetime to understand...to get it...you know?" Henry struggled to explain himself.

"Oh Henry..." Grace put the coffee pot down to give both of Henry's shoulders a reassuring squeeze. "...your lifetime has just begun."

"How did you know I would love Pike back?" Henry asked. "After almost twenty years of pining after Dean - what made you so sure I would figure it all out and fall in love with Pike?"

"I just knew. Pike's a good man. You're a good man. You are made for each other - like the moon is made for the sun." Grace feathered her fingers across Henry's tired face. "All you needed was a nudge."

"Nudge?" Henry scoffed playfully. "More like a group-shove. Seemed the whole town was in on it by the time I figured it out."

Grace giggled. "The important thing is that you figured it out."

_**PRESENT**_

"Where is everybody?" Henry was looking around a very empty general store.

Pike looked up from the book he was reading. "The Peanut Gallery took the boys fishing."

"Where's Jim?" Henry had never seen Pike alone in the store. It was...weird.

Pike put his book down on the counter next to the cash register and walked around to meet Henry in the middle of the store. "He's keeping an eye on the Peanuts while they are keeping an eye on the boys."

"Do you miss _me-time-Wednesdays_ so much that you banished everyone?" Henry smirked.

"We put those on hold while the boys are here - remember?" Pike grinned before pulling Henry into his arms. "I just thought we could use a little time to ourselves."

Then he kissed him. It had been a while since he had kissed his lover in the middle of the day - in the middle of the store. It felt good.

Henry smiled into Pike's lips before ending the kiss - for only long enough to say, "So I guess this is _**WE**__-time-Wednesday_."

_**FLASHBACK**_

It was the first Wednesday he had to himself since Pike returned to his regular schedule.

It was hard - but Henry managed to respect the boundary. It didn't stop him from frantically worrying all day long though.

He knew it was irrational. Pike was fine - better than fine - he was doing great. And since he started back to work - he was happier and happier. So after a few weeks they decided maybe it was time for them to try reinstating the Wednesday ritual. Pike really needed a little space and autonomy - Henry understood that - but it was so hard to let go of his vigil.

But he did it.

And now he was waiting for Pike to walk through the side door. He felt like he had been holding his breath all day. Every time the phone rang he panicked that it would be Jim or Bird telling him that Pike had collapsed or worse.

It was so irrational. He knew it but he couldn't stop it.

Not until he saw Pike walk through the door.

And when he finally did, Henry sighed with relief, took a deep breath, and plastered on his best smile. "You home already?"

Pike smiled fondly before pulling Henry into a tight embrace. "Like you haven't been staring at the clock all day."

"I haven't." Henry tried his best to sound sincere.

"Liar." PIke smirked before kissing Henry senseless. "I missed you too."

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

Title: Catching the Stars (14/14)

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~ 4200

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

AN: Sorry for the long wait (Cindy!). I'd love to hear your thoughts on how it ends - these two were a challenge to write!

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_**PRESENT**_

When he walked through the door of his studio - the one lovingly constructed by his true love, then reconstructed by his chosen family of friends - he stopped short at the sight of a young boy standing in front of a half-finished canvass with a broom in one hand.

"You like it?" Henry asked the distracted lad. He tried not to chuckle when the boy startled and almost dropped his broom.

Eddy quickly and nervously moved the broom around. "I was just finishing up the sweeping."

Henry was amused.

He wasn't sure when that happened.

At first he had to force himself not to hate them, then he realized they weren't all bad and soon enough he found them to be kind of funny. Now he actually liked them - especially Eddy. There was something about Eddy...almost a connection that had no explanation. "Forget the sweeping for a sec and answer my question. Do you like it?"

Eddy relaxed a little and turned to once again look at the canvas. He tilted his head in concentration before he answered. "It's...loud."

"Loud?" Henry took two steps so he was standing next to the boy. "How so?"

"Um...maybe I don't mean loud...it's like...I don't know...just...all over the place...it makes me feel...jittery." Eddy struggled to explain. Without knowing it, the young man was giving his first artistic interpretation.

"Chaotic?" Henry asked. "Sort of all over the place and crazy?"

"Um..." Eddy suddenly looked a little guilty. "...I didn't mean..."

"You're right though." Henry saved him from himself. "That's exactly how it supposed to feel."

"It is?" Eddy asked with wide eyes.

"Mmmm Hmmmm." Henry nodded. "I was thinking about how it felt to wait for Pike to wake up at the hospital after...well...you know. I'm still working on it though. So far I've only captured the chaos part - there was the thankful part too. I still need to capture that."

"Thankful?" Eddy asked after a long pause.

Henry looked right into the kid's eyes. "Yeah. I was so thankful he was still alive."

Henry held him captive for several minutes. He watched the boy struggle to not look away - he watched his young eyes well from so many emotions - he watched the child apologize without words. Henry thought it was an act of bravery in a way. He finally let the kid off the hook and broke the connection. He cleared his throat and tried to smooth out the sudden awkwardness. "You're a natural, Eddy. You have real potential artistically - you have a good eye and excellent sensibility."

"I do?"

Henry felt himself smiling at Eddy's disbelief. "Definitely."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"The fish were biting today." Pike looked proudly at the ice chest full of trout.

Bird nodded while Jim said, "They were biting alright. I'd say we got us the makings of a fish fry."

Pike nodded with his hands on his hips. "How many of these did you catch, Dillan?"

"Oh man! I caught like almost all of them. I got the biggest one for sure!" Dillan spoke excitedly and seemed proud.

Pike noticed. "Well, let's go get 'em cooked up!"

Dillan cocked his head curiously at Pike. "Cook?"

"How do you think we're gonna eat 'em without cooking 'em?" Bird asked with a smirk.

"Boys don't cook." Dillan explained to Bird with a well timed eye-roll.

"Pike's a fine cook." Jim said proudly while he smacked Pike affectionately on the shoulder.

"Never heard you complain about it." Pike looked at Dillian expectantly. "You seem to eat up anything I've cooked."

"I...I didn't mean...I mean I..."

Pike's innate kindness took over. "Let's just go get these fish cleaned up. We'll start there...is gutting fish manly enough for ya?"

While the Peanut Gallery tried their best to contain their giggles, Dillan nodded nervously before following Pike into the back of the store. As they passed the open door of Henry's bright studio, Pike leaned into the door and spoke to his lover. "There's a big box that just came for you. I put it next to the bookshelf."

"Wow - that was fast!" Henry turned from his almost complete painting - the one that represented tragic fear and hopeful resilience. "I just put the order in last week."

"I put a rush on it." Pike smiled. "You got something right here." Pike smirked while he pointed to his own left cheek.

Henry wiped the same spot on his own face and chuckled. "I had an itch."

Pike smiled fondly. "How does a fish fry sound?"

"Fishy." Henry grinned.

Pike pointed at the canvass behind his lover. "That one looks a little less..."

"It is...less...I wasn't as terrified once you were at the hospital...I mean I was, but I also knew you were going to make it so...I guess I was..."

Before Henry knew what was happening he was swallowed up into Pike's long arms, pressed against his broad chest. "We'll hang it next to _Trepidation_ in the den." Pike kissed Henry's forehead and tightened his hold around Henry.

These sudden bursts of grateful affection had become common between the two. As the months passed, they became more about connection and appreciation than pain and reassurance - but they were still necessary moments of spontaneous, loving touch.

Henry buried his face into Pike's chest and took a deep breath before he lightened the moment. "Don't you have some fish to fry?"

Pick chucked. "Yep. But first I'm supervising a young man who thinks cooking is just for girls or gays."

"Dillan _**said**_ that?" Henry was a little shocked that the child would be so insulting after all the weeks they had spent together. "Not in so many words, but it was implied. So I thought an hour of gutting fish would show him the manly side of cooking."

"After all these years, I never knew you could be so mean, Pike Dexter." Henry smirked through mock surprise.

"The Village Circle of Accountability isn't all fun and games." Pike explained with a masterful deadpan expression. "Sometimes it gets a little dirty."

"I'll just go check out my delivery while you mold the men of the future." Henry playfully smacked Pike's denim covered cheek before his lover turned and walked out of his studio quietly laughing.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Pike wanted me to tell you that it's time to eat." Eddy spoke from the doorway of Henry's studio.

Henry didn't turn around, he just spoke to the child while looking at his canvas. "Did you finish up at the school?"

"Yeah..." Eddy nodded even though Henry couldn't see it. "She said I saved her a couple of days of work."

Henry heard the pride in his voice. "So we need to find something else for you to do for the next couple of weeks?"

Eddy nodded again. "I guess so."

"Hmmm." Henry finally turned his head to look behind him. "Come here Eddy."

Eddy stepped into the room until he was standing next to Henry. He found himself looking at a wooden easel with a blank canvas snugly fitted between brackets. Next to the canvas was a small wooden supply box that had been opened and placed upon the hinged legs that could be folded up and locked into place for portability. The box was opened like an accordion with three layers of hollowed out shelves brimming over with brushes, paints, cleaners, and other new artist's tools. Eddy's eyes were nearly bulging out of his head.

It was obvious to Henry that the child wasn't sure what to make of it all. "I was thinking about it the other day, Eddy. You know - every great artist needs an equally great apprentice - someone with natural ability who can learn the style and craft of the masters and apply it to his own art."

Eddy looked at Henry with disbelief as his young mind started to understand.

"From what I've seen, you're a natural. You're probably already a better artist that I am, you just need the right tools. Learn a few techniques and you'll be all set." Henry pointed to the blank canvas. "What do you say, Eddy? Even though I'm not famous and I'm far from being a master, will you do me the honors of being my apprentice."

Eddy gasped. "You got all of this for me?"

Henry nodded. "And it's portable. You can take it with you."

"Why?" Eddy asked. Henry could see the boy trying his best not to cry.

Henry couldn't stop himself from reaching out to comb his fingers through the boy's messy hair. "Because I see great potential in you, my friend."

"You do?"

"Absolutely."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Not so hard." Henry instructed. "Just a light brush of the bristles and swirl it in the opposite direction with each touch on the canvass. That's how you get the spray of the waves coming off of the rocks."

"LIke this?" Eddy asked as he did exactly as he was told.

"Perfect!" Henry was always amazed by how natural it was for Eddy to do this. "How do you know so much about what the ocean crashing against a rocky coastline looks like?"

"The last time I saw my dad was in Oregon. We went on a picnic. The tide was coming in and it looked like this." Eddy explained then cocked his head as he looked at the canvas. "Sort of..."

"You'll get it right, just take your time." Henry encouraged. "Where did your dad go?"

"Heaven."

"Oh." Henry didn't know what else to say.

Eddy shrugged. "His car was hit by a big truck."

Henry swallowed the emotional lump in his throat. "I'm sorry, Eddy."

"Can you show me how to make a sea gull?" Eddy asked.

Henry recognized the diversion tactic and was more than happy accommodate. "Sure. Grab an angled brush..."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Henry watched the small boy cling to Pike. Dillan was crying and Henry found the irony of the moment a little heart-wrenching. The same child who joined his young friends in beating his gentle-giant into unconsciousness before leaving him bleeding on the dingy floor of his own store - that same child was now refusing to let go of Pike's neck.

Pike knelt on one knee, one big hand gently skimming the boy's back as he murmured word of comfort. Eddy suddenly appeared at Henry's side and wrapped his thin arms around his waist. "Can I email you?"

Henry placed an arm around the boy's shoulder. "Of course."

"Will you send me pictures of _Survival_ when you finish it?" Eddy referred to the almost complete canvas that would be a companion piece to _Trepidation_.

"I will." Henry promised. "And I expect an honest critique."

Eddy squeezed Henry around the middle. "Thanks for everything, Henry."

"I'm glad you and Dillan chose to come here." Henry ruffled Eddy's mop of hair. "You are brave boys with a lot of integrity and I'm a better man for knowing you."

As the boys traded places - Dillan hugging Henry and Eddy hugging Pike - the two men exchanged glances. Henry never expected to feel so sad to see these two boys leave. He realized with a swelling in his chest that Pike had been right all along - bringing the kids here had been a much needed salve for the wounds of everyone involved - Henry felt none of the tangled emotions from before - he had healed and moved on - he had reclaimed the power he lost the second he saw Pike bleeding on the floor.

Pike's painful and much disputed decision to offer up Big Eden and a community service option had restored the two men, the boys, and the people most impacted by the violence that took place so many months before.

Henry found himself doing the impossible...

...tumbling deeper into love.

After meeting Dillan's rather aloof mother and packing their belongings into the trunk of her car - belongings which now included portable art supplies and a complete set of Bobby Flay cooking essentials - the boys and men exchanged a few more emotional hugs before the Peanut Gallery, Dean, and Grace said their own farewells. As the car drove away, the boys waved through the back window.

They were all wondering the same thing.

_How long will I miss them and will we ever see them again?_

The rest of the day was melancholy. Grace hung around the store, dusting shelves and periodically touching Pike or Henry with nurturing concern. Jim and the boys spent most of the day on the front porch - mostly in silence. Henry and Pike went through the motions - trying to make the day as normal as possible, but realizing that normal had changed over the summer.

Eventually Pike and Henry found themselves alone in the store. As the sun set over the horizon, their Big Eden family had dispersed. Henry couldn't stay away from Pike all day. When the time he would usually head home came and passed, he found himself still lingering in the front of the store - staring at Pike as he stocked the display of cigarettes behind the counter.

"You want me to lock up?" He asked his somber lover.

Pike looked toward Henry and nodded. "Please."

Henry crossed the store, flipped the sign on the door to read closed, locked the deadbolt and turned around to find himself only a few inches from his lover. "Why'd you have me lock up if you were coming over here anyway?" Henry asked with a grin.

Pike just stood there with a strange look on his face.

"Hey..." Henry closed the tiny space between them until he could rub small circles with his palm onto Pike's ribcage. "...you okay?"

Pike nodded before he wrapped his arms around Henry and lifted him off the floor. "Thank you." He said before he kissed him.

Henry understood. Henry had taken a chance - trusted Pike's choices even though they scared the hell out of him - and gave Pike the opportunity to change a tiny piece of the world. For that, Pike was grateful. But in doing that - trusting Pike, Pike had also change Henry - a change that made Henry's world a little bit better than it was before. Henry was a better man today than he was at the beginning of the journey. He completely understood the term restorative justice and was proud to have been a part of it. "I should be the one thanking you." It seemed so obvious.

But Pike's brows crinkled with confusion. "Why? You're the one who..."

"I just trusted you. You're the one who took the risk and gave all of us a chance to heal and move on." Henry pulled Pike tighter against him. "YOU did that, Pike. Thank you."

Instead of arguing, Pike simply kissed him. Henry's feet were still a couple of inches off the ground, but he barely noticed - the kiss was just that good.

"It's been a while since we ravaged each other in the kitchen." Pike gushed into Henry's neck before he nipped his way back to plunder his mouth again.

Henry lifted his legs and wrapped them around Pike's hips while he deepened the toe-curling kiss. "I'm only letting you carry me because it's hard to walk with a full erection."

Pike chuckled into Henry's lips. "I miss them already - but it's nice to have a little privacy." He said as he wobbled them toward the small kitchen where it all started a few years earlier.

"Privacy's good." Henry agreed breathlessly.

_**FUTURE**_

It was hard to believe a year had passed already. Henry remembers Sampa saying time goes faster the older you get. When he was seventeen, it sounded like the musings of an old man. But as a forty-something man, he realized that truer words were never spoken.

He looked into the bright, excited eyes of his lover as a familiar car pulled into the gravel lot in front of Dexter's General Store. A short, pudgy woman exited the driver's door and walked briskly toward the two men. "You must be Pike and Henry." She said before she hugged each of them in turn. "I'm so glad to finally meet you face-to-face."

Eddy's mom had been emailing them all year. In the beginning she was simply sending her thanks to the two men for the change she saw in her son. He had grown over the summer - he was more settled and sure of himself. He stopped hanging around with the kids that she blamed for his downward spiral.

She had her son back.

They corresponded throughout the year after that first email. She wasn't a big believer in forming relationships on the internet - until now. She had grown to love Pike and Henry and was thrilled when they invited Eddy and Dillan to Big Eden for a few weeks of summer fun. She knew Dillan's mom wouldn't really care either way - she was just happy to get her kid out of her hair for a while. She was convinced that Pike and Henry were the only reason Dillan hadn't stayed on the wrong path himself. He and Eddy had become best friends and she considered it her duty to be a support for the boy - to give him a chance in life that his own mother didn't seem to be capable of doing.

As she pulled away from the tall, dark, and handsome man she knew to be Pike, she struggled to keep a lid on her emotions. The man towering over her could have easily hurt her boy on a dark night so long ago - but he chose not to despite the fact that her son was being brutal and hateful. Then he chose to give her boy a chance - an unbelievable chance that most people wouldn't even consider. How could she ever express how grateful she felt?

"It's so good to see you, Susan." Henry greeted her before he took his turn hugging the nervous woman. "Thank you for letting us spend some time with the boys this year."

"Are you kidding. You're all Eddy ever talks about! I'm so happy you're open to this. And Dillan...well, I'll just say he can use all the positive adult attention he can get." She shook her head sadly. "Especially from good men. He's been going on and on for the who drive up here about a recipe he found on Rachel Ray's website. He can't wait to cook it for you guys!"

"Pike will like that. I can't cook anything worthy of eating." Henry chuckled. "Hey guys!" Henry waved as the boys got out of the back seat of the car. They ran until they almost leapt into the waiting arms of their mentors. Dillan hugged Pike and Eddy hugged Henry before they traded.

"Let's get your stuff into my truck." Henry said while he ruffled Dillan's hair. "We got your room all ready at home and Frances seems excited about your visit."

"I want to show you something first." Eddy grabbed Henry's hand and pulled him toward the car. "Open the trunk, Mom!" He demanded impatiently once he got there.

"Eddy?" Pike said with a warning tone.

"Please." Eddy added obediently.

Susan smiled and winked at Pike before pushing the button on her key fob that released the trunk's latch.

Eddy carefully pulled out the canvas he had been working on since he left Big Eden the year before. He wanted it to be perfect, so he took his time.

"Is that it?" Henry asked. He had been giving Eddy tips on techniques via email all year long. Henry was so excited that Eddy was bringing his first piece to show him.

Eddy nodded proudly before he turned the canvas around and showed his mentor his work. Henry was astounded. Not only was it beautiful, but it was painted in the style of his own work - as if Eddy was truly his apprentice and would some day carry on his artistic legacy. If he weren't so stunned he would surely be crying.

"It's beautiful!" He managed to speak to the nervous young artist. "I mean it, Ed. It's just...I'm..."

"Looks like something you painted, Henry." Pike observed wistfully. "Eddy, it's..."

"So you like it?" Eddy interrupted.

Neither Henry nor Pike corrected him for his rudeness. They simply nodded and smiled.

"It's called _Second Chances_ and I made it for you." Eddy said with relief and pride.

"You sure you want to give away your first piece?" Henry asked.

Eddy nodded with a wide smile. "Aren't you going to ask me what inspired me?"

Henry felt Pike's arm drape around his shoulders. He knew Pike was grinning like a fool without even looking at him. "Okay - tell me - what was your motivation?"

"Pike." Eddy said as if he had been rehearsing his one word answer for weeks. "And you, of course. But at first it was about Pike." Eddy looked into Pike's intense eyes. Unlike the year before - Eddy now knew that Pike's eyes weren't showing anger - they were thinking - always thinking. They were filled with kindness. And this year Eddy saw something else reflected in those dark eyes...love. "You gave us a chance that no one else would. After what we did to you. I don't really know how to tell you how I feel about you. But when I painted this...and when I look at it...I feel it." He turned to look at Henry. "That means I got it right - right Henry?"

Henry couldn't speak around the giant lump in his throat - so he simply nodded and pulled the boy into his arms. He held the boy's head into his chest and kissed the side of his face. He was taller this year and soon Henry wouldn't be able to hold him like this, which was probably a good thing because he's fairly certain that Eddy will be in the 'don't hug me stage' soon. Once he had pulled himself together, he released his young friend from the bone crushing hug and gave Pike a turn.

Henry noticed Dillan shuffling his feet in the gravel with his head bowed. "I hear you're going to be showing us your cooking skills, Dillan."

The boy puffed up a little and Henry could see the green-eye monster fade away. "I printed a bunch of recipes. All your favorites."

"I can't wait to try them." Pike pulled Dillan into his arms for one more hug. "I've missed having another cook around."

Susan looked at her watch and apologized sincerely. "I'm so sorry to run, guys. But I need to get back in time for work."

She hugged them all - hugging the boys twice - and left in a cloud of dust. Henry took a deep breath and held up the canvas to admire the work of young Eddy. "This will look good on the wall with _Trepidation_ and _Survival_. Thank you for completing the set, Ed."

"So. Did I get it right?" Eddy asked apprehensively. Henry realized that he never answered the question the first time the boy asked. He was just too overwhelmed with emotion to speak.

Get it right? He got it perfectly. Every single nuance of the feelings that come with second chances was expressed on canvas. It showed every single speck of love and admiration he knew they all felt for Pike and his tenacity and faith. The kind of faith Pike had in each of them was what pulled them through the darkness. It was Pike who had patiently waited for each of them to fall from the stars - right into his waiting arms. And Henry could see all of it in the colors and brush strokes of this boy who was so young to be so wise. Henry held the painting at an angle that caught the light of the morning sun. He nodded and smiled and tried not to cry as he spoke. "Yeah, Eddy. You got it just right."

FIN


End file.
